Exalted: Kim Possible
by Emperor-Muzzy
Summary: In an age long past, the Exalted ruled the world and kept it from its enemies. Now those enemies stir again. Are there any worthy to wield the power of Exaltation? Do you really need to ask? Kim Possible/Exalted Fusion, K/R/S
1. Second Breath

Exalted  
In an age long past, the Exalted ruled the world and kept it from its enemies. Now those enemies stir again. Are there any worthy to wield the power of Exaltation?

Authors Note: This is my first real foray into fanfiction. Reviews are most welcome. White Wolf owns Exalted and Disney own Kim Possible et all.

* * *

Chapter 1: Dreams and Wakings.

Elsewhere, the massive sarcophagus hung in the timeless void. Although comprised primarily of soulsteel, all five of the magical materials were present in its construction. In relief on the face of the sarcophagus was the image of a man, powerful and imposing, clad in mighty amour. In each of his outstretched hands rested a perfect egg of yellow jade the size of a bull's heart. Something shuddered in the void, and then there was light.

In the heart of the temple, a third egg, marred by a hairline scar running diagonally from its base to its equator, began to shudder on its alter. A faint crack appeared on the terrible visage of one of the four jade monkey statues that watched the egg.

In Doctor Drakken's Himalayan Lair Kim narrowly dodged another blast of emerald energy, back flipping from the catwalk where she had been fighting Shego. Below her, she could see Ron struggling with a horde of red suited goons. Ahead of her on the central platform that dominated the chamber, Drakken stood ranting about whatever it was that his most recent doomsday weapon would unleash. She rolled to avoid another blast from Shego.  
"Now witness as I unleash the primordial beasts of the Mesozoic era upon the modern world with my Dimensional Temporal Summoner!" Drakken crowed, slamming his fist down on the large green button in the middle of his console.  
Two of the three robotic arms ending in a weird array of effectors and focusers and emiters glided smoothly into position around the main beam aperture. The third, however, merely twitched, sputtered, and collapsed. At its base, a small pink form holding two sparking wires emerge, grinning and chattering triumphantly. The mad scientist wailed in terror.  
"No! Without the proper focusing array, the beam will..." he was cut off as Shego tackled him from across the room. Moments later, power arced through the space he had just occupied. The room began to shake as unfocused energy began to pour from the machine.  
"KP! Getting out of here now seems like a good idea!" Ron yelled as he ran for the exit, scooping up the naked more rat as he went.  
"On it." the teen superhero yelled back as she turned to follow. They were halfway to the exit when a thunderous roar filled the room. As they picked themselves up from the floor, all eyes turned to the center of the room, where the device had been aimed. Standing there, rocking slightly, was the sarcophagus. Slowly, it began to fall. With a resounding thud, it fell face first to the floor, the two eggs of jade shattering under its weight. Again, sound and fury filled the chamber, and then there was light.

In the lost temple the watching monkey statues exploded, followed a split second later by the egg on the alter. The temple shuddered and began to collapse, and then there was light.

It seemed to Kim that the lair's ceiling had been torn asunder to reveal the noonday sun. It seemed that a multitude of voices called out to her, extolling her to greatness. It seemed as if the world laid itself at her feet, exalting its queen. She felt strong, she felt fast, she felt powerful. She felt, rather than heard the voice.  
"Anything is possible." And she knew it to be true.  
Ron felt the familiar rush of the Mystical Monkey Power as it flowed into and through him, the old desire to jump and swing and play and fight. Yet there was something new to it. Before it had been a sputtering flame, stoked high only by the most burning passions. Now it felt cool and soothing, and most of all, complete. As it flowed into him, a mother's voice, full of compassion and tinged with mirth, whispered his own words to him.  
"Never be normal." Joy filled him, a son's joy at a mother's approval.  
Shego staggered. She could feel it surrounding her, enveloping her, completing her. The hunter's fur was her skin, its mane her hair. Without words, she knew freedom, and laughter and the joy of the hunt. Inexorably, against her will, she felt her eyes drawn to Kim Possible. She could feel a connection there, both new and ancient. Whatever she had felt for the girl before, that strange combination of rivalry and admiration, was now both different and more.  
Light enveloped each of them. Kim blazed with the light of the noonday sun, a great mandala of golds and reds surrounding her. On her brow burned a solid disc of gold.  
Around Ron a familiar blazing aura of blue had formed. Now, however, his movements seemed mirrored by a monkey made of abstract lines of silver. A crescent moon glittered on his forehead.  
Shego stood, engulfed in a storm of emerald and silver. On her brow a crescent of silver mirrored the one that marked Ron.

Drakken's eyes were glued to the sarcophagus, oblivious to the blazing display behind him. A drop of blood trickled from the side of his mouth, unnoticed, as the great metal construct began to open. Only when a trickle of blood from a newly opened cut on his forehead obscured his vision did he pause. Horror filled him, as he felt more wounds opening all over his body. A wordless wail of terror was choked off into a gurgle as blood filled his mouth.

Ron recovered first. After all, this was not entirely unfamiliar territory for him. As the aura surrounding him dimmed, he saw the henchmen littering the ground, retching and convulsing as bloody wounds appeared all over their bodies.  
"KP! Getting out of here RIGHT NOW seems good!" he yelled, grabbing her hand. She seemed to suddenly snap awake, her blazing anima vanishing. Resuming her aborted dash for the exit, she pulled out the Kimmunicator.  
"Wade, I need transport with Hazmat capabilities now! Have GJ quarantine the area. Drakken's set something loose and it looks bad. Can you do a preliminary bio-scan of me and Ron?" The normal lighthearted, confident tone of her voice had been replaced with deadly seriousness. Hearing her words and her tone, the child prodigy simply nodded and began typing furiously.  
"I can't get a scan on you until you have a chance to stand still. A GJ hoverjet with full medivac and biohazard equipment will meet you in the valley a few miles west of you. It should be straight downhill from the lair's primary entrance."  
"Got it Wade."

As the teen heroes fled, Shego snapped out of the reverie that had gripped her. Turning, she dashed for the medical kit mounted next to the door. She had the syringe filled with universal antigen out and emptied into her veins with superhuman speed. If anything amazed her about Drakken, it was the wondrous things he created when he wasn't trying to take over the world. While the doomsday machines he devoted himself to were hair-brained at best, his offhand efforts to reduce the cost of health insurance expenses had resulted in a serum that could cure any known disease, among other things.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a low grinding noise, coming from the sarcophagus. As she stared, frozen in place, the bulk of the thing heaved upwards.  
The sarcophagus's occupant was encased in a massive suit of jet black armor. As the figure clambered to its feet, she thought she could see faces in the metal, screaming. She flattened herself behind one of the machine's supports, and watched as the figure walked to where Drakken lay, panting weakly for breath.  
"Not much to work with, but you'll have to do." The figure's voice was like two granite slabs rubbing against each other. Suddenly, Drakken's body began convulsing. Slowly, the convulsions faded, and Drakken rose from the ground like a puppet in the hands of a novice. As he stood, the wounds that had so mysteriously appeared began to close, leaving puckered scars in their passing. By the time he stood fully erect, all his wounds save one had closed. On his brow, a half-filled disc of black corruption slowly leaked tears of blood. Then he gasped, his eyes flying open. With that breath, an aura of intricate spirals of indigo shadows enveloped him.  
"Your name is now the Unrepentant Dragon Coiling in Fire and Darkness. Your life belongs to me, and you will do as I will. Do you understand?" the armored figure boomed.  
"I think I like Doctor Drakken better." his voice full of uncharacteristic confidence. Crimson energy lanced from the ceiling, enveloping the armored figure. The armor clattered to the ground, dust billowing from its joints and visor. Turning to look where Shego was watching, the villain grinned madly. "Come Shego. We have a world to conquer!"

* * *

Deep below the earth, in the central chamber of the buried temple of the Yono a row of statues stood, waiting. A pale light, wan and terrible, rose up from the floor. It flowed around the statues, examining them each in turn, until it came to the last in the line. Contorted in fear, the figure's arms and legs were strange, the arms of a monkey rather than a man. The light flowed into the statue. Suddenly the statue gasped, and stone became flesh. A torrent of flickering shadows surrounded the man as he stared at his arms. The hair on his arms and legs, once pitch black, was now the white of a burial shroud. His eyes stung as blood dripped into them. Reaching up, he found an empty circle cut into his forehead, surrounded by radial lines of small cuts.

Kim and Ron slid to a stop in the mountain valley, stepping off their snowboards. Immediately, they were surrounded by Global Justice agents clad in bulky hazmat suits. They allowed themselves to be bundled into the sterile hold of the GJ medivac hoverjet. The Kimmunicator beeped.  
"Kim, you ready for that scan?" the child prodigy asked.  
"Please and thank you," the levity in her voice wasn't forced. She knew she should be tired and afraid and confused by everything that had just happened to her. Instead, she felt confidence welling up inside her.  
She felt the tingle of the Kimmunicator's scanners as the swept over her.  
"Now Ron," Wade's voice was filled with distraction.  
"Got anything for us Wade?"  
"I'm not detecting any foreign organisms or chemicals. On cursory inspection, you're both clean. Now, what happened in there?"

Ron flopped back on the quarantine bay's bed, exhausted. It had been a long day. The flight to the Global Justice facility had been made in silence, save for a brief call home for each of the teens to explain the situation to their parents. Their reactions had been predictable. Ron's parents had taken it in stride. Kim's parents had been concerned to say the least.  
When they arrived at the facility, they were separated and subjected to a massive battery of tests. They had drawn so much blood and stuck so many needles in the teens that both Ron and Kim had started making pincushion jokes.  
He lazily watched as Kim ran through her evening stretches, a grin plastering his face.  
"And what exactly are you grinning at?" she asked with a grin of her own.  
"Just the most badalicious girlfriend in the world."  
"Oh really. And just what," she arched her back, causing her shirt to ride up, exposing even more of her midriff, "about this most 'badalicious' girlfriend of yours are you staring at so intently?"  
He whimpered softly in the back of his throat as she sauntered over to him and kissed him lightly.  
"See you in the morning." He grinned dazedly as she lay down on the rooms other bed and closed her eyes.

They lay together on the bed, his arms around her, his face buried in her fiery mane, the western mahogany of his skin throwing sharp contrast with her southern gold. She played idly with the ruff of silver fur that accentuated his wrists.  
"I should go," he whispered, nuzzling her neck.  
"Stay. He won't be back for a few more days." she whispered back, arching back into him.  
"Really now. I was hoping for something like that. And what will we do with that time?" he moved, catching her wrists and pinning her under him.  
"Oh, I can think of a few things," she giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist. A warm chuckle rose up in his throat, as he leaned down to capture her lips with his.  
Their kiss was broken as the door to the chamber exploded inward. Blazing light filled the room, outlining the man in the doorway. His beautiful features were twisted with hatred. His hands gripped a golden blade as tall and broad as he. Standing behind him was a woman, her golden tresses framing eyes glazed with blind devotion.  
"Traitorous whore!" He screamed. "How dare you! You are mine! Both of you, mine!" his voice was shrill and brutal and full of madness. As his voice rang out, the blankness seemed to lift from the golden haired womans eyes, replaced with horror and pain. Meeting her mistress's gaze, she mouthed a wordless apology.

Kim's eyes shot open, locking with Ron's wild gaze. In her room in one of Drakken's Australian lair, Shego shot upright, pain etching her features. In the underground temple, the man who had been Monkey Fist awoke, manic hatred filling his face.  
In his laboratory, the man that had been Drakken giggled softly to himself as he wiped the spatters of blood and grease from his face. He was making excellent progress.

* * *

Doctor Director sat at her desk and ran over the reports. In their investigations, her teams had found the corpses of Drakken's henchmen, although Drakken and Shego were both noticeable absent, along with anything resembling the sarcophagus they had described. While the wounds on the henchmen's bodies showed all the signs of corruption and rot, the medical examiners could find no trace of any organic or chemical cause. It was as if their flesh had simply rotted away in patterns consistent with knife wounds. With a sigh, she buried her face in her hands, massaging her temples. She hated mad scientists. Nothing was ever simple when they were involved. At least Team Possible's bloodwork and bioscans had come back clean. However, she had insisted on a full physical.

Kim and Ron were sweating. They had been on the treadmill for over an hour. In the observation room, several doctors were crowding around the displays in amazement.  
"Hey Ron, do you smell something?" An acrid odor, like burning plastic, had begun to assail her sense.  
"Wasn't me KP."  
"No, I mean like something burning."  
"Now that you mention in I kinda-" he was cut off as the machine, unable to handle the strain anymore, died. Ron stumbled forward, hurtling through the machine in a spray of plastic shards. The room shuddered as he slammed headfirst into the wall, sending a spiderweb of cracks through the concrete.  
Before any of the watching med techs could even move, Kim was beside him.  
"Ron! Come on Ron, talk to me." near-panic filled her voice as she reached down to him.  
"I think I lost my pants." he groaned, sitting up. Indeed, he was stripped to his boxers, his pants hanging from one the posts of the now destroyed treadmill. "Talk about going for the low bidder." He rapped the wall with his knuckles where his face had left an unmistakable imprint in the concrete.  
The first med techs to enter the room found the teen heroes laughing in near hysteria.

Shego was on edge. What she had witnessed at the Himalayan lair had shaken her, badly. Her dreams hadn't helped.  
Despite her line of work, Shego had seen relatively little death. She had hospitalized and injured more than her fair share, but she had always been careful to avoid killing people. The same applied to Doctor D. The deaths the henchmen had suffered were had shaken her to her core.  
The change in Drakken was even more disturbing. After dispatching whatever it was that had inhabited the sarcophagus, he had taken a near ghoulish delight in loading as many corpses as he could into the hovercar along with the empty suit of armor and the sarcophagus. She still wasn't entirely certain why she had helped him load the gruesome cargo, or why she hadn't bolted. Even his appearance had changed. He looked emaciated, his skin clinging tightly to his bones.  
Fortunately, she hadn't had to see him very much since their arrival. He had sequestered himself in his primary lab with instructions that he was not to be disturbed. That suited Shego perfectly.  
She had decided to work off her nervous energy in the gym. It hadn't worked. Most of the equipment, designed to withstand her comet enhanced abilities, had been destroyed in the first few minutes. She stood in the wreckage, staring at the wall length mirror. The usual green glow of her powers was now shot through with silver, and on her brow a crescent moon burned. In the back of her mind she could hear the hunter pacing.  
She needed to get out, to do something. She briefly considered telling Drakken that she was leaving, or even leaving him a note.  
"To hell with him," she said, grinning, and was gone.

_In the underground temple, the man who had been Monkey Fist wandered angrily. The temple was a maze and he had made no progress on finding an exit. All sense of time had abandoned him. He couldn't tell if he had been wandering for minutes, hours, days or years. Several times he had found intersections that folded back on themselves. He had rounded corners to find empty corridors where he knew for a fact that there should be an intersection. And all the while, he could feel a slight breeze that brushed his fur yet seemed to touch nothing else. Sometimes he would run wildly in a mad dash to escape the shadows that surrounded him. It seemed the faster he ran the more likely they were to catch him up, and the more likely the wound in his forehead would open again.  
Finally, maddened with terror, his way barred by a dead end, the shadows waiting just behind him, he had torn through the very walls. The shadows had matched his panic, and revealed their face to him. A monkey made of shadowy smoke had run with him, almost on top of him, aping his every move. He had run until he collapsed, giving way to exhaustion.  
He had dreamed, then. He woke snarling, his face twisted in hate.  
"Mine!" he screamed, echoing his words in the dream. "They are mine! They belong to me!"  
He found himself in a corridor unlike the twisted maze that had trapped him. It ran straight, with no twists or turns, sloped slightly upwards. At its end he could see light.  
The man who was once Monkey Fist started up the passage._

Drakken felt the faint rumbling of the hanger doors open and heard the whine of the hovercar leaving.  
"Finally some quite," he whispered to himself, carefully splicing wires into nerve endings. Blood covered his face, although he wasn't sure how much of it was from his creation and how much was from his caste mark. Channeling Essence through his Anima, he quickly made another incision, black blades of shadow leaving cuts more precise and clean than any scalpel ever could.

Doctor Director poured blankly over the reports. At their last physical evaluation, Team Possible had demonstrated at least Olympic levels of fitness and ability, pushing the bounds of human capabilities in several fields.  
Those bounds had been shattered. Before the treadmill gave way, both Kim and Ron had run the equivalent of two marathons in just under an hour, less than half the world record for a single marathon. Even when they slowed down the footage of Kim's dash to Ron's side, they still couldn't see more than a blur of her movement. Ron's assessment of the concrete wall he had impacted could not have been more wrong.  
The remaining tests showed similar results. They had broken several world records in weight lifting, although by a much smaller margin. Their already impressive athletic abilities had shown almost absurd levels of growth.  
Their health evaluation had come back perfect. Not even the smallest traces of disease or chemical contamination could be detected. Impossibly, several of the contaminants they had picked up over the course of their careers fighting villains who utilized dangerously radioactive and chemically unstable materials extensively were gone. The scars and damages to muscle, joint and bone they had accumulated were likewise gone.  
One anomaly caught her eye. She blinked, then called the doctor who had made the report.  
"Regarding your report on Stoppable: what exactly do you mean by 'furry wrists'?"

* * *

"Maybe we should try to contact Master Sensei," Ron said, whispering to avoid waking Hana. Getting a ninja baby to go to bed was a taxing affair, requiring great endurance, cunning and skill. Normally, he and Kim would have collapsed themselves shortly after. "This is his field after all."  
"Any ideas on how?"  
"On second thought, we should wait for him to contact us. This is his field after all."  
Kim settled down next to her boyfriend on the couch. This was the first time they had been truly alone with each other since the incident at the Lair.  
"My parents should be turning in around now." Rod said with a goofy grin.  
"I know. And my parents aren't expecting me home for a few hours."  
"Really now." there was something in his words, something both strange and familiar, like hearing the voice of a friend that you have not spoken to for some time.  
They were curled up together several minutes later when the warble of the Kimmunicator interrupted them, followed quickly by Hana's wailing.  
"Whats the sitch, Wade?" she asked, fighting to keep the annoyance out of her voice.  
"Its Shego. She was recognized by the police at a night club in Rome. She pretty much tore through the cops that tried to arrest her. I'm tracking her movements since then. It looks like she's headed for a small island in the Caribbean. Looks like the perfect location for a lair. If you leave now I can get you there a little after she arrives. And Kim, whatever you and Ron got exposed to, it looks like she got a dose of it herself."  
"We're on it, Wade."  
Ron picked up the squalling infant and headed for the stairs. At the base of the stairs, he passed the child to his bleary eyed mother.  
"Sorry mom, mission time. See you in the morning."

Shego flopped down her bed. She felt she had salvaged the evening quite handily. A little larceny followed by a night of clubbing all culminating in a little old fashioned mayhem. The look on the faces of the police when she sent the car they had been using as a barricade flying end over end had been worth it. A pity none of the boys at the club had been any good. The combination of drinks, dancing and destruction had left her horny as all hell.  
It hit her in the shower. The same feeling she had back at the Himalayan Lair. Kim was here. A few seconds later, the lair's alarms began blaring.  
Taking stock of her situation, she came to a simple conclusion. This was going end in embarrassment no matter what she did. There was no time for her to get dressed, she could feel Kim closing too fast. She had a robe, but it was definitely ill-suited for combat and there was no way that it would survive a fight with her teen nemesis.  
The connection to Kim seemed to tug at her, and she grinned. A thought rose up in her mind, like a voice from a memory. This was going to end in embarrassment, but it needn't be hers.  
"After all, two can play at that game."  
Now where the hell that come from?

Kim could feel it guiding her through the lair as Ron trailed behind her. It was like instinct, telling her that this was the door to open and this the fork to take to reach her goal.  
The lairs assortment of death traps proved even less of a hindrance than normal. Sidestepping a spinning blade she entered a long hall lined with numbered doors. She stopped suddenly, her mouth falling open. Right behind her, Ron froze, his eyes wide and his ears burning.  
Shego leaned in the doorframe at the end of the hall, examining her nails. She was dressed in a thigh length silk bathrobe, split to the naval. Minty skin gleamed in the dim light.  
"Hi princess, I was wondering when you would show up. Took your time, didn't you?" Shego's tones were sultry as she sauntered down the hall towards the teens, her hips swaying. The teens were frozen like deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi. This was not how missions were supposed to go.  
Suddenly Shego's demeanor changed, her smile shifting from sultry to triumphant, and she sprang forward, her fist wreathed in green and silver flame. Kim was barely able to dodge the blow. Ron was not so lucky. The blow caught him square in the chest, slamming him through the wall like it was tissue paper.  
Kim snapped out of her daze in time to duck under the follow through and respond with a brutal jab to Shego's ribs. The wall cracked as the impact threw her back into it. The fight began in earnest then.  
Ron lay dazed amidst the rubble that had been the room on the other side of the wall and watched as Shego and Kim went at it. The two women were too absorbed in the fight to notice, but Shego's earlier predictions about her robe's chances of survival had already come true. He felt himself grinning dazedly. The scene filled him with an almost dreamlike sense of familiarity.  
The cramped confines of the hallway restricted their normally acrobatic fighting styles. He frowned woozily as Shego dodged a blow from Kim. The frown deepened when she punched a large hole in the wall before recovering. In fact, there seemed to be a lot of that happening. As punches and kicks were dodged and redirected, each inflicted far more structural damage than they should have. Actually, as they fought, the restrictions imposed by the closed quarters were rapidly vanishing as the surrounding walls were systematically demolished.  
As Ron struggled to regain his feet, certain oddities about his own situation began to intrude on his consciousness. Not only had he survived being punched through a reinforced concrete wall with barely a scratch, but since when did he have opposable toes? Or a tail, for that matter. In fact, as he his head began to clear, he saw that his body was covered in golden fur. Monkey fur.  
Kim and Shego paused as a piercing wail split the air.

Master Sensei struggled to his feet. The corpses of those who had refused to flee littered the broken streets of Yamanouchi. He himself was exhausted from the fight.  
More had wanted to stay, but he had not permitted it. The evil he had sensed was even greater than that of the Yono. The portents had hinted at a darkness more terrible than any he had imagined. In the end, he had only allowed enough to remain to buy the rest the time to escape.  
Yori had been the most determined to stay, and the one he was most determined must leave. Someone had to carry the Lotus Blade to safety. Someone had to warn the Chosen One.  
The architect of this devastation casually stepped from the ruins of what had been the shrine of the Lotus Blade. The thing that had been Monkey Fist strolled leisurely towards the master of Yamanouchi. The old man readied his beleaguered defenses once more, lashing out with a blow not only of flesh but of Essence as well, meant to pass through all mortal barriers and strike at the enemy's very soul.  
Casually, Monkey Fist swatted the strike aside, responding with a blow of his own that sent the ancient master sprawling. He struggled to rise again, only to be thrust back to the ground as one of the monkey obsessed madman's prehensile feet wrapped around his throat.  
"I see your little toy escaped with the blade. Good. When I come for the traitor and his whore, they'll offer at least a little challenge. Now you are the boy's mentor, his teacher. So lets play a little game. I hurt you, and you scream, and we see if your precious student comes to your rescue."  
Master Sensei had spent his entire life mastering himself. He could control the very Essence of his being to accomplish feats that would seem impossible to the unlearned. He had certainly learned long ago to master pain and fear. Yet in the end, he screamed.

"MONKEY!"  
Kim and Shego stared. Standing where Ron had fallen was a creature that could have come out of DNAmy's labs. The golden furred man monkey was wailing in horror as it stared at its limbs.  
"Ron?" Kim was incredulous, but the voice and reactions were most definitely his.

Drakken leaned back from the workbench, wiping his hands with a rag already soaked through with blood. It was complete. He had used up the corpses of five henchmen in making it, but that left him with plenty of materials left over. A grin spread across his ghoulish face. The next time that meddlesome teenager and her buffoon of a sidekick tried to interfere, there would be a little surprise waiting for them. The mad scientist grinned at the face screaming out at him from the scythe-like claws he had provided his creation with.  
"Now now, why so upset. You're getting what you wanted, aren't you?"

Shego couldn't help it. The voice was so plaintive and the monkey face was screwed up with such human despair. She threw her head back and laughed, her whole body shaking with mirth.  
"Hey Princess, I didn't know you liked them so hairy."

Monkey Fist wiped his face clean of blood. Devouring the old fool's Essence had been immensely satisfying. Unfortunately, he wasn't done yet. He still had a message to compose.  
As the ravens descended, he began to drag the corpses about, arranging them according to some unfathomable design. When he was done, he stood back and admired his work. When the traitors came, they would remember. After all, they had to know their sin against him before they could be punished.

Kim shoved Shego back, sending her staggering into a wall, which promptly collapsed. Shego's laughter cut short, replaced with a snarl.  
"You bitch! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get drywall out of wet hair?"  
As Shego launched herself at Kim, Ron could only stare. The feeling of familiarity was almost overwhelming.

Drakken was annoyed. He needed Essence to continue his work. However, because he lacked access to a Shadowland, and the lair was too isolated to have easy access to a source of victims, he had no way to replenish his stores. He could have gone out to find a few, but Shego had taken the hovercar. And knowing Shego, it could be days before she returned.  
Normally in these sorts of situations, he would just order Pizza, but it wasn't food he needed...  
Drakken smacked himself in the forehead as he reached for his phone. The Pizza might be useless to him, but he the deliverer would provide a solution to both his Essence and transportation needs.

Ron took a few steps towards the fighting women before pausing. Did he really want to try to break this up? Kim's clothing, although not a fragile as Shego's robe, had not benefited from whatever force it was that was allowing the two of them to shrug off blows that shattered walls. Nails and splintered wood that left skin unmarred had torn great gashes in her mission outfit. He might be a teen hero, but he was also a teen male.  
The strange feeling of familiarity seemed to intensify suddenly. Kim and Shego paused in their fight as the feeling rose up in them as well.

_The two women bowed to each other as they assumed their stances in the center of the training pavilion. By unspoken agreement, they both burst into movement at the same time. The golden hair woman was older, stronger and more experienced. The fiery haired woman from the south was younger and faster.  
The easterner smiled languidly as he watched the bout from the branches of one of the crystal-pear trees that surrounded the pavilion. He munched appreciatively on one of the translucent fruit, greedily licking the sweet juices from his fingers. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to lick those juices from the younger woman's body, before crushing the thought. She was his master's wife for the Incarnae's sake. So what if she had yet to even see the man, neither had he, except in brief flashes of memory and dreams of his former lives. It was the relation her Exaltation had had to his master's for over a dozen incarnations on both sides. While it was the privilege of their kind to stand above the tides of fate, they were not so blessed against the tides of social pressure. As for himself, the ties that bound were simpler. He was a child of Luna, and his master was his Solar mate.  
His focus shifted to the golden haired woman. She had known his previous incarnation. Several of them, in fact. Her face stirred ancient memories. Suddenly he knew what the crystal-pear juice tasted like from her skin. It was an incredibly intimate detail to remember about someone you hadn't even properly met yet.  
The bout ended with the younger woman pinned to the ground in what looked like an unnecessarily provocative position. The young man in the tree dropped down amidst a rain of crystal leaves and approached the pavilion._

* * *

Thoughts and observations:

First off: what should Shego's spirit form be? While Spotted Hyena was my first choice, there are certain... pecularities of female spotted hyena biology that are just squicky when combined with shapeshifting.

Kim Possible is the perfect candidate for Solar Exaltation, what with the whole "Anything is possible for a Possible" thing. While Dawn (for her martial arts skills) or Night (for her stealthy/acrobatic skills) were my initial choices for her caste, I finally settled on Zenith because while she is skilled at combat and she is acrobatic, she is mostly a leader.

Ron Stoppable is the _definition_ of a Lunar. He's got the whole "never be normal" thing going on, his relation to Kim (the Lunars are the Solars' sidekicks), his somewhat protean nature (count the number of episodes where he has an apparently radical change in his personality) and his protectiveness of the things he cares about. The fact that his Solar Mate is Monkey Fist serves to mess with his head.

Drakken wouldn't qualify for Exaltation of any kind. Fortunately, Abyssal Exaltations are given out on the whims of their keepers, and the one that Exalted him didn't have much to work with at the time. Monkey Fist is also Abyssal, although I'd say he's slightly more deserving of it.

Shego as a Lunar fits for most of the reasons Ron as a Lunar fits. I toyed with the thought of making her Terrestrial (fire caste), but Terrestrial Exaltation is hereditary. Anyways, it doesn't really fit.

If the characters seem to be acting a bit odd, they are being influenced by their previous incarnations.


	2. Rising Forces

Chapter 2: Aligning Forces

Kim Possible struggled against wakefulness, clinging to the fuzzy warmth of dreams. She luxuriated in the feel of the satin against her naked skin and the warm... bodies...  
Kim's eyes shot open as her brain finally began to process what her senses were telling her. She was naked, in an unfamiliar bed, nestled between two warm bodies. Ron lay sprawled against her front. Looking down, she saw a delicate green arm wrapped around her waist.  
She froze, weighing the options of sitting up, screaming, or both. She settled on the first. Mumbled protests from her two companions greeted her movement.  
"Ron, wake up," she hissed. Shego's arm still hadn't left her waist.  
"Few more minutes KP," he mumbled back.  
"Ron, if you don't wake up this instant I'll have you barred from every Beuno Nacho in the world for the rest of your life!"  
Ron's protest died on his lips as his eyes opened and he found himself lying nearly face to face with the still sleeping Shego. A small whimper of fear escaped him. Then a small whimper of something else as he noticed that Kim was leaning over him, naked. Then a final whimper of fear and something else as he noticed that both he and Shego were also naked.  
"Ron!" Kim's hiss had a hint of outrage this time, as she felt something unmistakable begin to move.  
"Can't help it. I'm a guy." he whispered back, plaintively. "Wait... I'm a guy! I'm not a monkey! Booyah!"  
A blast of green plasma narrowly missed his head, blowing yet another hole in yet another of the lair's walls.  
"Shut it, I'm tryin' to... sleep..." Shego's mumble trailed off as she too returned to the land of consciousness. She stared blearily at the teens for a few seconds before turning back to the pillow. "Its too early to deal with this."  
Kim was taken aback. "Its 3:00 PM."  
Another blast of emerald obliterated the bedside clock.  
"Shouldn't we be fighting and/or freaking out? I mean, what just happened? One second we're fighting and the next we're waking up in bed with each other? Whats with that? And why am I taking this so well? I should be screaming or trying to fight you or something."  
"Oh, I'd say you're gettin' pretty shrill there princess," Shego said, obstinately refusing to take her face out of the pillow.  
"I've been having this weird sense of deja... deja... the feeling that you've done something before," Ron's voice was thoughtful.  
Shego finally looked up, a mischievous glint in her eye.  
"Waking up with two naked womens gives you deja-vu? Always figured the Princess was too straight-laced to go for that."  
Shego snickered as Ron and Kim turned beet red. Fully awake now, Shego rolled out of the bed and walked to the closet.  
Kim was casting desperately about for any sign of her clothes. She spotted the remnants of her shirt easily. It had been on the nightstand that had supported the bedside clock. Her pants, torn but still serviceable, were crumpled on the floor, next to a complete set of Ron's clothes. Her scan of the floor and furniture completed and still missing certain item, her gaze was drawn inexorably upwards, to the fan in the center of the ceiling. Her eyes fixed on the missing articles, and a small whimper escaped her lips. Shego, following Kim's gaze, began laughing again. Ron just gulped.  
Glancing nervously at Shego, Kim darted out and grabbed her pants and Ron's shirt and started struggling into them.  
"Hey KP, mind tossing me my pants?" Ron's voice was plaintive. He was hunched over with the sheets around his waist. Shego's laughed harder.  
A few minutes later, the three of them were dressed, Ron having graciously surrendered his shirt to Kim. Kim was looking nervously at Shego.  
"So, what do we do now?" Kim asked.  
"You mean after waking up in bed with your nemesis without any idea how you actually got there? Dunno. You're asking the wrong Go. I'd say you leave and we never speak of this again."  
"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

The flight home was filled with palpable silence. Wade had been utterly freaked out by their lack of contact and had been organizing an extraction team when they called for a ride.  
They had decided on partial honesty when it came to the events of the previous night. They had arrived at the lair, fought Shego and then everything went blank and they woke up at 3:00 PM. The damage to their clothes was a result of the fight. Unsurprisingly, they had been taken back to Global Justice for further examination.

* * *

Shego was on edge again. She had woken at least an hour before the two teens. The overwhelming rightness she had felt lying there with her nemesis in her arms had drowned any of the concerns she knew she should have had about the situation. Mego's little incident back when she was still part of Team Go had left him freaking out for days. To a less completely narcissistic personality, it might have been traumatizing.  
Shego poured herself a glass of one of the fruity rums that Drakken seemed to love so much. The thing that was really bothering her, though, was the way she had felt after Kim left. It had felt like rejection. She downed the glass, cursing the extreme tolerance for alcohol her comet powers granted her.  
The buffoon had been right though. The whole episode had had the feeling of deja-vu to it. She had been riding too high the whole time to really notice, but when Kim had left and that yawning pit had opened in her stomach it had hit her just how odd she had been acting. She might not have had time to get into her old Go uniform, but she could have put on some sweats and a t-shirt at least. Instead, she had set herself up to look sexy for her opponent. During the fight, she had been less concerned with killing or at least defeating Kim than with having fun and destroying Kim's outfit. When they woke up, she had been practically thrilled that whatever they had been up to, it had been crazy enough to result in Kim's admittedly frumpy underwear on the celling fan. She abandoned the glass and simply emptied most of the bottle.

* * *

Kim and Ron were relieved when, for the second time in as many days, they were discharged from Global Justice's medical examinations facility. To celebrate, they had headed to Bueno Nacho. Kim stared with her usual combination of fascination and horror as Ron and Rufus ravaged a tray of cheap tex mex. The Naked Mole Rat had been especially panicked by the absence of his humans. His tirade at being left behind when they went on a mission had lasted until Ron plunked a tray of Nacos in front of him, at which point all was forgiven.  
"What's happening to us, Ron?"  
"Dunno KP. It feels a lot like the MMP, except for the whole turning into a monkey thing. That is sick and wrong. I swear, man was not meant to have opposable thumbs on their feet."  
"Man, or in this case, woman, should not be able to punch holes in walls by accident. Or be able to run at 50 mph. Or replace designer clothes..."  
"No, no way KP. Not happening. You're the one with the Club Banana employee discount. Uh-ah, not happening, no way. Aww, not the Puppy Dog Pout..." Ron trailed off into silence, his eyes fixed on Kim. All of a sudden he really wanted to buy Kim those new clothes. It felt like he was plunging into a tropical ocean. He really, really wanted to get Kim those new clothes. And then something inside him stuck, stood firm. He could feel the tide break against it, and suddenly he was himself again. His chest heaved as he gasped with exertion. Kim was next to him, her hand gripping his tightly.  
"Ron, answer me. Are you okay? Whats wrong?"  
"What just happened?"  
"I don't know, you just freaked out all of a sudden."  
He could feel something rising up from within, from the place that had stood firm in the face of the tide. Words that were more memory than thought, words not his own.  
"You promised you would never do that to me. You promised!" his voice was not his own, but they both recognized it. They knew it from the crystal-pear grove and from the bedroom. Both of those times it had been full of warmth. Now it felt cold, betrayed.  
"KP, you've got something on your forehead." Ron said, his own voice reasserting itself.  
Kim was momentarily taken aback by the abrupt shifts in tone. Unsure of what to do, she flipped open her compact and stared. On her brow, just barely visible in the light from the window, was a solid disc of gold. She pulled out the Kimmunicator.  
"Wade, I need you to do a scan and an image capture." She said, angling the device to get a clear view of the mark. "And I need you to try to contact Yamanuchi. We need some serious mystical advice right now."

* * *

As Shego approached the Australian Lair, she stared at the changes to the landscape. The earth had been thrown up in some places, torn away in others. From the air, it looked like the surface of a still pond during a rainstorm. It looked like someone had carefully and deliberately take a gravity projector and sculpted the area according to some bizarre arcane principle.  
The lair itself was different. Grooves and channels adorned its outer walls, forming patterns which hurt the eye to follow. Incongruously, a pizza delivery car was parked in front of the main entrance, along with a couple of minivans.  
"Never known Drakken to be so proactive about anything. Might be a nice change of pace."  
She parked the hovercar in the landing bay. The patterns that had twisted the outside of the lair were continued on the walls, floors and ceilings of the lair's hallways. She passed several syntho-drone carefully extending or touching up the designs.  
She froze as she entered the command center, staring in abject horror at the scene before her. Over three dozen people, ranging in age from a trio of small children who couldn't have been more than eight years of age, to a woman who couldn't have been less than eighty, were crucified to the room walls of the room. Blood dripped from where the nails had been driven through their wrists and ankles into basins cut into the floor. To her mounting horror, it was obvious that all of them were still alive.  
"Ah, Shego, there you are. I need you to collect some more supplies. Nurse Cavin here tells me that the maternity ward of the local hospital is rather busy at the moment. I need six healthy boys or girls, doesn't matter which, but all the same gender. Shouldn't take half an hour." Drakken's tones were cheerful and businesslike as he tightened the bolts supporting five very small black iron crosses around the central console.  
Shego nodded dumbly and walked back the way she had come, breaking into a mad dash as soon as she was out of earshot. She gunned the hovercar's engines and took off, flying as fast as she could away from what she had seen. After a few minutes, she adjusted her course and pulled up the hovercar's comm unit.

* * *

Kim and Ron were at her house when the Kimmunicator began warbling.  
"Sitch me Wade. Any word from Yamanuchi?"  
"Sorry Kim, nobody's picking up. There's someone on the line for you though. Its Shego. Should I put her through?"  
Kim and Ron both blushed crimson at the villianess's name.  
"Put her through Wade. We might as well hear what she has to say."  
Wade's face was replaced Shego's, her eyes wide with panic.  
"Drakken's lost it. I mean, completely lost it. He's gone fucking insane. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. We need to talk. Meet you... wherever, just be there soon. Oh god..." Shego's face vanished, followed by the sounds of retching. "I'm headed for the Middletown lodge. I'll be there in a few hours. Meet me there."  
The communication shut off before either of the startled teens could respond.  
"That was weird. You tracking her Wade?"  
"On it. Whoa, she's booking it. I knew that their hovercar was supersonic but I didn't think it was that fast. ETA looks like an hour and a half, tops. Want me to contact GJ?"  
"Please and thank you."

* * *

When Shego arrived at the lodge, Kim and Ron were waiting for her along with a full complement of GJ agents. Shego didn't even blink.  
"Freeze Shego! You are under arrest for-" GJ's self procalimed Top Agent was raising his stun watch when Kim cut him off.  
"Shut it Du. Shego, what did you mean Drakken's lost it? He hasn't 'had it' for a long time now."  
"Kimmie, there's a fine line between trying to take over the world and CRUCIFYING BABIES!"  
That got everyone's attention. As Shego related what she had seen, shock melted into horror.  
"So I got the fuck out of there. This is way, way beyond anything I signed up for."  
Will Du stepped forward. "This does not change the fact that you are under arrest, although your cooperation and assistance in this matter will be noted. Global Justice will take it from here."  
Kim was shocked. "What? Are you kidding? You're going to take over, just like that? Team Possible has more experience with Drakken than anyone else!"  
"While I will admit that, in your amateurish way you have a degree of competence, you lack the resources and expertise to stage a full frontal assault. Shego's testimony, if accurate, indicates that that is the only course of action that makes sense at the current time. And I'm sure you're not questioning Shego's arrest. You were the one that called us, and we'll finish this."  
"Like hell-" Shego's protestations were cut short as six tasers hit her in the back.  
"Just to make sure you understand, any further involvement in this situation without express invitation by Global Justice will constitute unlawful interfering with the operations of an internationally recognized agency, which your celebrity status will not shield you from. As a courtesy, we will keep you posted on any developments."  
Kim and Ron stood in stunned silence as the GJ agents dragged Shego away.

* * *

"Did that sound a little rehearsed to you?" Kim asked. They were in her room, relaxing on the bed.  
"Oh yeah. Bet he's had this whole scene planned out for years."  
"He may be a stuck up jerk, but I don't think he has the authority to bench us. The only person I can think of with that kind of authority would be Doctor Director."  
"Why would she want us off the field?"  
"Ron, we've spent most of the past three days under medical observation, and they found a lot of anomalies."  
"Yeah, we're stronger, faster and healthier than before. That doesn't say hit the bench to me."  
"They have no idea whats causing it. I'm sure Doctor Director only has our best interests at heart."  
"If you say so."  
The warble of the Kimmunicator brought an end to the discussion.  
"Sitch me Wade."  
"We've got a problem. Shego broke free a couple of minutes ago. Looks like GJ's special holding facilities weren't up to containing her. On a more positive note, GJ is almost in position for their raid on..." Wade's voice trailed off as he stared one of his monitors. Muted sounds of panic and pandemonium accompanied the growing look of horror on his face. "KP, we... we have a problem."

* * *

Drakken was annoyed. Shego had been missing for hours, and she still had his hovercar. What was worse, in the time she had been gone he had reconsidered the design of the control center. While the tabula rasa of an infant's mind would be the easiest to imprint with the structures needed to coordinate input from the secondary nodes, his attempts so far had proven that the minds of children as old as 5 were too underdeveloped to handle the amounts of information that would be required of the central nodes. Maintenance would also be a problem. His current projections suggested that even a healthy adult secondary node would need to be replaced after only a few days. The primary nodes would be under far more strain.  
His musings were cut short when the secondary nodes in control of the Manse's outer defenses began to babble in a guttural and twisted glossolalia. He cursed Shego's tardiness again. This would have been so much easier with a set of functioning primary nodes. At least the reports hadn't said anything about his teen nemesis. Wearily, he set to work coordinating the various elements of the Manse's defenses.

* * *

"Eta team, Eta Team, do you copy? We're being taken to pieces here!"  
"This is Beta Team, reporting heavy causalities! We need extraction now!"  
"They got Delta Team, I repeat, Delta Team is-"  
Kim switched off the Kimmunicator. She had seen enough. Drakken's lair was a meatgrinder, literally in some places.  
The teen heroes sat in silence, absorbing what they had seen.  
"KP, we aren't ready for this."  
"I know Ron."


	3. Convergence

Chapter 3: Convergence

Shego's mad dash came to an end outside a hidden cave out in the forest. She dove into it, the entrance sealing behind her as she hit the hidden switch. It paid to have precautions when your nemesis lived in the same town the taskforce mandated to apprehend you was headquartered in.  
She didn't bother with the lights. Her comet glow blazed around her like a bonfire, more silver than green now. During her escape it had ignited suddenly, beyond her control. Out in the open she would have been a clear target. Fortunately, she knew that Global Justice didn't know the location of this hideaway.  
She was drained and and exhausted. It had been a long, fucked up day, and she somehow doubted that she had gotten much rest the previous night.

* * *

_ "Raksi is going to kill her."  
"And what the hell are we supposed to do?"  
"I don't know, maybe SAVE HER?"  
"Yeah, and then the two thousand year old, baby eating Queen of Sorcery will kill us as well!"  
"We can't just sit here, she's-"  
"Your Solar Mate, I got that."  
"Don't act like she doesn't mean anything to you. I know you remember."  
"Yeah, I remember. I also remember her husband raping our minds then gutting me. Not exactly keen to repeat the experience, and I'm willing to bet Raksi is a whole lot more creative."  
"Fuck this, I'm not letting her die."  
"Wait! Oh gods, this is not gonna be pretty."_

The easterner sat in the shade of the crystal-pear tree hugging himself. The golden haired woman sat down beside him and pulled him into her embrace.  
"How did you find me here?"  
"It's your favorite place. The habits of a dozen lifetimes do not die hard."  
"He's a monster, isn't he."  
The golden haired woman only nodded.  
"I can still feel him in my head. I want... oh gods I want to kill him."  
"I know. It, it was like this before. Its not just him though. I've seen the others. She's one of the only sane ones left."  
"You still love her."  
"Such is the bond Luna placed upon me. You aren't without feelings for her yourself."  
"I think... I think that was why he did... that... to me."  
"Old passions are like old habits."  
"She isn't the only one I remember."  
"True."  
"Did I at least manage to distract you from her?"  
"It was more than that."

Orichalcum, golder than gold, met soulsteel. The fire of the Unconquered Sun blazed against the shadows of Oblivion. They stood at the center of the storm. The man the color of a shroud dressed in pale funerary robes, a black disc surrounded by radial spikes cut into his forehead. The woman burnished ebony girded in bronze, a disc of solid gold blazing on her brow. Their daiklaves locked, ancient hate twisting their faces.  
Further down the slopes two beacons of silver blazed through the tides of animate corpses and hungry ghosts, driving the unquiet dead back. A towering golden wolfman waded through the tide of the undead, rending and tearing with tooth and claw, while a scarlet furred bear grappled with a titan of bone and steel. Silver tattoos covered each in whorls and curves.  
The pale man's screams of rage rose over the tumult, drowning the very cacophony of battle.  
"How dare you defy me! You are mine! You cannot defy me!"  
His screams of rage were cut short as her gold upon gold blade found his throat.  
"**We **_defy you."_

* * *

Kim and Ron woke with a start.  
"Okay, this whole waking up completely freaked out by something is getting a bit old. You're staring at me. I'm a monkey again, right? I feel like a monkey."  
Kim nodded.  
"You know what? I'm not gonna freak. I've used up my weekly allotment of freakout. I'm just gonna be human again."  
"Whoa. That was freaky."  
Ron looked down and found himself to be free of excess fur or other simian traits.  
"Booya! It worked!" Ron pumped his fist in the air.  
"We really need some advice. Maybe Wade's heard something from Yamanuchi."  
The child genius, appeared on the Kimmunicator's display looking exhausted. He yawned deeply, before greeting team Possible.  
"Hey Kim, what can I do for you?"  
"You okay, Wade?"  
"Sure, sure. GJ's just had me up all night, trying to crack Drakken's systems. They're like nothing I've ever even heard of before. A lot of the data is just gibberish, and there are parts that I just can't access. Its a nightmare."  
"I take it you haven't had time to contact Yamanuchi then."  
"I'll give them a ring, see if they're in now. Still no response. Wait. I've got something. A report to the Undersecretary of Ninja Affairs." Wade paused, scanning the report. His weary eyes widened. "Kim, I've got more bad news. Looks like no one has heard anything from Yamanuchi for a couple of days now. The grads have all gone off the map as well. According to the report thats standard operating procedure if the school is under major threat. Last time this happened was when the Yono attacked. Wait a sec, got some more. The Secretary of Ninja Affairs has ordered a taskforce to investigate. They're expecting a full report on the situation tomorrow."  
"We should check it out. Wade, we need a ride."  
"I'm on it KP. Are you sure you want to be doing this? GJ seemed pretty insistent that you stay out the field."  
"We don't work for GJ. And anyways, Japan isn't a signatory to the Global Justice mandate, so they can't declare the area under their jurisdiction even if they wanted to keep us out. Which I doubt."  
"Alright. Its gonna take longer than usual, though. Most of your really fast rides are related to GJ."  
"We'll survive."

* * *

Shego switched on the GJ comm unit she had picked up during her escape. Global Justice's network security was a bit like a beehive. Getting in was extremely difficult. However, once you were in it was incredibly easy to move around undetected. She scrolled through the various options, looking for anything useful. She stopped suddenly, a grin spreading across her face.  
"Now why would Global Justice be monitoring the princess's communications? Looks like someone has been naughty."  
Shego grinned when she got the report on her most recent encounter with Team Possible.  
"Awww, looks like Kimmie decided to leave a few things out. And I thought we had made such a connection." Shego's already impressive grin widened further as she imagined Kim's expression if the full account were to be told. "Pity this thing doesn't have write permissions."  
Nearly an hour later, Shego sat back and switched the comm off. She was surprised that they had forgotten the thing that had started all this insanity, the sarcophagus that Drakken had accidentally summoned. Still, she wasn't about to go back to Drakken's base and she wouldn't mind a few answers herself. And unlike Kimmie and her sidekick, she had a fast mode of transport readily available. After all, Global Justice hadn't been able to keep her in, why would they be able to keep her out? Especially considering that she now had a detailed layout of the facility and security measures.  
"Might even give the princess and her boytoy a ride." She blinked. Where had that come from. And since when did she deliver double entendres to herself?

* * *

Doctor Director stared blearily at the reports in front of her as she massaged her temples. She was exhausted and confused. Everything had gone wrong. Of the nine three man squads she had sent to deal with Drakken, two agents had survived. She had lost 25 elite agents in the span of a few minutes, with nothing to show for it. The survivors were too traumatized to function. To compound matters, Shego had escaped, the cells that normally contained her proving wholly inadequate.  
Now she had a report indicating that Team Possible was heading to Japan, to investigate the Yamanuchi situation. She needed them here, where she could keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, she lacked the power to ground them. She thumbed the comm to her surveillance expert.  
"Dr. Nioge, do we have satellite on Drakken's lair?"  
"Yes ma'am. However, there's some pretty heavy localized cloud coverage. There's no way its natural. We can't get any readings. Sorry."  
"Damn it. Inform me the moment we have intelligence."  
She was just settling down to read the reports on worldwide supervillian threats when the base alarms began shrieking.  
"What the hell is going on?"  
"Shego ma'am. She's hit the hangers. She took the hovercar!"  
"Wasn't that under guard?"  
"Yes ma'ma."  
"Damages?"  
"Not sure yet. The hanger bay doors are slagged and she destroyed three hoverjets. We're still assessing the remaining structural damages."  
"Are we in pursuit?"  
"Two hoverjets, ma'am. But I wouldn't be too optimistic. This one looks like an upgraded model. Has some pretty advanced gravity manipulation technology that gives a significant edge in speed and maneuverability."  
Dr. Director buried her face in her palms. A pair of white furred hands reached out and began massaging her shoulders.  
"Relax. Its all going according to plan." Her shudder of revulsion turned to one of arousal as the thing that had been Monkey Fist whispered a deep and sibilant glossolalia in her ear. For a moment she resisted, trying to reassert her own will, before falling back into the numbing void of his syllables.

* * *

"Shego!" Ron yelled, pointing.  
Kim looked up from the road in time to see the hovercar fly past. A few seconds later, two GJ hoverjets flew by. A few seconds after that, the Sloth was rocked with a series of sonic booms.  
The car's kimmunicator flipped open.  
"KP, I just got word from GJ,"  
"Shego broke the hovercar out and is in my area pursued by two GJ hoverjets, all traveling at supersonic speeds?" she cut him off.  
"Pretty much. Unfortunately, it looks like Shego's gonna get away."  
"So, what are we gonna do about it?"  
"Not sure there's much you can do. The Sloth is fast, but its not exactly aerodynamic."  
"We can't just let her get away."  
"The hovercar's gravity manipulation technology makes it pretty easy for me to track. Unless she ditches it, I should be able to keep her in my sights. In other news, I have ride for you to Yamanuchi. It'll pick you up shortly."  
"Got it. Keep me posted on Shego."  
"Will do."

* * *

Kim and Ron were cuddled together in the hold of the cargo plane.  
"We're approaching the drop zone." the intercom burbled.  
"Thanks for the ride Mr. Donovan."  
"Its no problem. Not after you saved my plane from that tornado."  
"No big. Anyone could have taken down a rogue scientist armed with a localized weather manipulator using only a spoon and an angry-" the warble of the kimmunicator cut her off. "Sorry, I've gotta take this. Whats the sitch Wade?"  
"You know the whole Shego escaping thing? It looks like you're gonna be dealing with her a lot sooner than we expected. She's been in Japanese airspace for the last few hours, hopping from place to place. I've charted her movements, and I think she's aiming for Yamanuchi. She should be arriving a little after you."  
"We'll be ready. But how did she even know about Yamanuchi?"  
"Maybe she got access to GJ's files."  
"We're getting ready to jump. Talk to you on the ground."

* * *

The devastation became apparent before they had even pulled their parachute cords. They landed in front of the ruins of the Lotus Shrine.  
"What happened here?" for the second time in as many days she was confronted with a scene of horror.  
"Sensei! SENSEI!" Ron screamed. He dashed to where his teacher's corpse had been arranged. The ancient man looked almost peaceful. Scattered around the square were four other corpses, arrayed around a central slab of stone that had been thrown up like an obelisk.  
"What the hell happened here?" Shego's voice cut the silence.  
The teens were on their feet and facing her in the blink of an eye, fists raised.  
"What do you have to do with this, Shego?" cold rage filled Kim's voice.  
"Absolutely nothing princess. This is _not _my style."  
"I wasn't Drakken's style until yesterday."  
"Yeah, and who tipped you off about that? Listen, I'm just here because you two thought you might be able to find some answers here. I'm just as confused as you two about everything thats been happening since Drakken summoned that thing."  
"And how exactly did you know we were coming here?" Ron's voice sounded deathly calm.  
"I've got a tap into GJ's systems. They've got some pretty complete files on the two of you. They've also got your communicator bugged."  
Kim's response to that piece of information was obliterated by a feeling that they had become rather acquainted with over the past few days.  
"Not again," Shego gasped, before the vision overtook them.

* * *

_ The Dark Architect's corpse fell to the ground as the sky above burned. The ebon woman who had struck him down struggled to keep her feet. She and the Colossus were the last things standing. Her companions had fallen, and their Exaltations trapped. The ancient master who had led them to this point lay broken before the Sarcophagus that was the center of the destruction. She could feel the world breaking around her.  
The Colossus strode towards her, its blade held ready. As it passed the Architect's corpse, it reached down and the bale light of the Abyssal Exaltation that had animated him flowed up and into its gauntlet. It paused before her. Wearily, she raised her Orichalcum blade, only to have it batted aside with contemptuous ease.  
"I have told you a thousand times in a thousand lives. The three of you are mine. Your very existence belongs to me. You cannot deny this." It drove its blade home.  
She could feel her life draining away, feel the tug of the jade prison on her very Essence. The monstrosity that had been forged to house the Exaltation that had hounded her and those she loved for millennia stepped into the Sarcophagus and closed the lid behind it. The tumult around them increased, the elements tearing themselves apart. On the verge of death, she marshaled herself for one last blow, sent her Essence out in a pure lance. The blow struck one of the three jade prisons, sending it hurtling away. With that final effort she fell still._

* * *

Shego and Team Possible found themselves sprawled on the ground of the ruined square that had been the center of Yamanuchi. Shego was the first to speak.  
"Okay, who the hell is that freak and why does he keep telling you that you belong to him?"


	4. Interum

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"Okay, who the hell is that freak and why does he keep telling you that you belong to him?"

Kim stared dumbly at Shego. She sat down hard against a burned out wall. Ron and Shego followed suit. After a while, Shego started laughing. After a moment, Team Possible joined in.

After a few minutes, the laughter died down.

"I've got to admit, you made a cute black chick." Shego winked saucily. Kim and Ron both choked, and stared at her with incredulity. "What, its the truth. Now be honest, does blond work for me?" She posed, pouting, before breaking back into laughter. Kim punched her in the shoulder.

They hardly blinked as the now familiar sense of familiarity rose in them.

"Can you even have deja-vu about having deja-vu?"

The next second, Kim was slammed up against the wall, Shego's lips mashed against hers and Ron was nibbling at her neck. They fell away from each other, gasping, looks of shock plastering their faces.

"What the-" Kim's voice was cut of by the sound of green and black cloth tearing. She was shocked to discover that it was her hands tearing the patterned jumpsuit. Ron was holding the mint skinned woman from behind, struggling for breath between passionate kisses. Kim had never really considered what Shego's skin would taste like. Now she knew. The spell broke again, leaving them on the ground.

"Okay, I'm out of here." Shego got to her feet, and headed for where she had parked the hovercar. She was halfway there when it hit again. She turned to see Team Possible locked together on the ground. She struggled against the compulsion to join them. Acting almost on instinct, she hurled a blast of emerald force at the stone slab that formed the center of the obscene tableau they had found.

As the stone exploded, the compulsion that had gripped them vanished. The teens paused in their frantic embrace, and slowly began to untangled their limbs from one another.

"Don't stop now. Looks like you were enjoying yourselves. So, never breathe a word of this to anyone ever or join the mile high club in the hovercar?" Shego's grin earned her looks of disbelief from the teenagers as she sauntered off to the waiting vehicle.

"Don't get any ideas, we just need to find out whats been going on." Kim said as she grabbed Ron and dragged him after her. Ron rubbed his neck, blushing furiously. He had quite a few ideas. He just wasn't sure which were actually his.

* * *

The eye-bending sigils and patterns began to glow softly as the Essence of the Underworld began to flow. Drakken crowed with delight. Modern technology was a wonderful thing. One by one he could feel the nodes coming on line.

For a moment, he wondered where Shego was. He dismissed the thought out of hand. He didn't need her any more. He was ready. Why take over the world, when destroying it would be so much more satisfying.

* * *

The hovercar skimmed along just above the treetops.

"So, we gonna compare notes or are you two just gonna keep staring at me?"

"I'm good with staring," that earned Ron a glare from Kim. "I mean, ah, um, I'm gonna shut up now."

"Sounds like a good idea." Kim's voice was dangerously calm.

"Not like there's anything he hasn't seen. Or you haven't seen." Team Possible blushed crimson, brining a sly grin to Shego's face. They felt it again tugging at them, although with the barest fraction of the intensity that had struck them at the burned out ninja school. The gentlest breeze compared to a raging hurricane. Still, it was more than enough to make Shego scrabble for the autopiolet.

"So, this happen to you two when I'm not around?" Shego's voice was shaky.

"No."

"I'm gonna land this thing."

"Yeah, good idea."

"Whats with the sidekick?"

Kim nudged Ron, breaking him out of his trance. He immediately hunched over, hugging his knees to his chest.

"This is going to be fun." Shego's smirk turned into a wide grin.

* * *

The thing that had once been Monkey Fist sat back as it felt the spell it had laid at the ruins of Yamanuchi trigger. He pressed a button, setting in motion the next stage of the plan. In the GJ holding cells, a young Japanese woman was noticing that the guard rotations had left her an opening. By now she should have found the flaws in the cell. She would break out and be funneled through the unguarded path to the lockers where the Lotus Blade was being stored. She would then find her way to the surface.

He could feel the phantom tug of memory and swatted it down. He had better things to do than reminisce. Things were starting now. The trap he had set would bring restore them, bring out the memories, bring the traitors forward in their minds. Once they had remembered, once they knew the extent of their crimes against him, he could reclaim what was his. Once he had reassembled the remnants of his Solar Circle, he could put down the other traitor, the one residing in Drakken.

And once the last of the Princes of the Earth were bound to him as they should be, creation would kneel once again.

His eyes widened with rage as he felt the spell shatter prematurely. They should not have been able to break free. They were ruining his plans. Again. Not this time, he wouldn't allow it.

His anima flared briefly as he summoned his newest toy. She entered the room, lust and terror warring for control of her features.

"Locate Shego and Team Possible, I want them in custody by the end of the day."

"Yes liege," she whispered, bowing.

The siren alarms began to shriek. The Japanese girl was escaping.

"Seal her in, its too soon for her to escape!" rage tinted he words as his toy scurried from the room.

* * *

Yori ran through the underground corridors, dodging security patrols, the Lotus Blade under her arm. She had to warn Stoppable-san.

* * *

"So, dreams, superpowers and Drakken goes off the deep end. That about cover it?" Shego was leaning against a tree, well away from Team Possible. The teens nodded, then gasped as another wave hit them.

"God dammit, it just went down! Why is thing happening!" Ron's wail didn't even garner him a raised eyebrow at this point.

"So, wadda we do now?"

"No idea. I know Ron and I should head back home and try and get someone to check us out. A lot of scientists owe us favors. But."

"Yeah, but. I should be laying low, hiding out until the heats off. But."

"Yeah."

* * *

The thing that had been Monkey Fist screamed and slapped the one eyed woman across the room. Shadows blazed around him and blood poured down his face.

"How could one little girl escape from an underground prison unless you let her out?" spittle flew from his mouth.

"She's a ninja-"

"I don't care! Find them. Find all of them. Bring them to me!"

* * *

Author's Note: Finals are finally over.


	5. Battle Joined

The Kimmunicator's warble cut through the awkward silence that had gripped the clearing.

"Sitch me Wade." Kim was relieved by the interruption. The conversation had already passed the line into the seriously uncomfortable.

"We got a problem. GJ just sent out an order to capture Shego."

"Doesn't sound like such a big deal."

"Yeah, thats what I thought at first. The weird thing is, the team also has orders to take in you and Ron."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"Well, a lot of really weird things have been going on."

"Yeah, but-"

"And you did leave Yamanuchi with Shego. I mean, whats up with that?"

"I'm not sure Wade. More weird stuff."

"Well, you have about an hour before GJ reaches your current location."

"Like I'm hanging around. You coming with me, or are you gonna let those GJ dorks lock you up?" Shego cut in.

"We can't just run."

"Uh, I'm all for the running KP." Ron's statement earned him an incredulous look from Kim and a bemused one from Shego. "It just feels right at the moment."

"Ron, we can't go on the run from Global Justice just because it feels right!"

They barely flinched as another wave of deja-vu washed over them. Ron just stared at her, an expectant look on his face.

"I'm serious Ron. We can't run. We can talk to Dr. Director, clear up whatever misunderstanding she has."

"Well, I'm not sticking around. Later lovers!" her shocked expression at the slip was mirrored in the faces of the teens. "Okay, I'm out of here before this gets any weirder." she vaulted into the hovercar, gunning the engine.

Kim and Ron watched as she raced off.

"Hey Kim, you know how I said I was done freaking out? Yeah, I lied."

"I know, Ron. I know."

* * *

Shego had doubled back after she was out of sight of the teens, careful not to activate any of the systems that would have allowed their geek to track her. That GJ had issued orders to take the heroes in had perked her interest. She wanted to see what would happen.

The agents arrived much faster than the nerd had anticipated. They had outposts around the globe, many of them under deep cover. She watched with interest as they surrounded Team Possible. The princess seemed to be saying something, surrendering peacefully by the looks of it.

Shego's mouth dropped open when the assembled GJ agents shot the teens in the back with their stun watches, three apiece, dropping them. She grinned to herself. GJ was in for a surprise when they woke up. The princess might be straitlaced, but being stabbed in the back would piss anyone off.

She shuddered as she felt the electricity running through her. She turned, catching sight of the arrogant prick who had taken her in previously, before collapsing under the voltage of three more stun watches.

* * *

_The fallen leaves of the crystal pear trees filled the orchard with the sound of bells as she writhed beneath him. For a moment, as they peaked, a flicker of the disgust and hatred she felt for him crossed her face, before he reasserted his will. _

_ "They've betrayed me, haven't they?" he whispered, his hand closing around her throat. "I bet you can imagine them together. I bet, somewhere in there, that you wish you were with them. Well, don't worry. Soon enough that temptation will be gone, and you'll be all mine again, like it should be. And who knows, maybe their next incarnations will understand their place."_

* * *

Ron woke and immediately regretted it. His arms were pulled up behind his back by thick manacles, the sort used to restrain superhuman criminals. He was in a small unfurnished white cell, with no doors or windows. He struggled to his feet, straining against his restraints.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he felt the presence. It felt like sickness and hate and rot. There was someone down there, someone he hated with all his heart and loved with the same. Someone he knew he must rise up against, and to whom he must bow in submission. The feeling subsided quickly, going from a roar that filled his consciousness to a light buzz at the edge of his awareness. As it did so, he felt the room lurch, and begin to descend like an elevator.

* * *

Shego woke to the familiar feel of GJ restraints and the familiar sight of a GJ containment cell. After a few seconds of straining against her bonds she realized that, for the first time in her memory, GJ had actually learned something. The bonds she had so easily destroyed last time had been replaced with much sturdier models.

She lay back and closed her eyes, retreating into her mind. It was a trick she had developed over the her several stays in these cells. The complete isolation and lack of stimuli could do terrible things to the mind.

She could feel Kim just a few yards away. There was something else, though. Something within her. There was a shape there, in the places she went when imprisoned. She could see it, feel it, know it. She felt the restraints fall to the floor, and opened her now inhuman eyes.

* * *

"Monkey Fist?" Ron's voice was full of confusion and horror.

The simian mutant had changed greatly since his defeat. His face, already angular, was now practically geometric in is planes and angles. His skin, already pale, now had complexion of an exsanguinated corpse. The most startling change was his hair and fur. Where it had been pitch black before, it was now the color of snow.

"No. Not anymore. I wouldn't say that I really have a name anymore. But you, you can call me master."

"Yeah, not gonna happen. I've always been a fr-" Ron's voice was cut off as the thing that had been Monkey Fist slammed him against the wall.

"You do not speak back to me, you traitorous little shit. I could just kill you and let your Exaltation fall to someone more suitable, but I'd rather break you to my will."

Ron's eyes widened. He recognized that tone. The thing that had been Monkey Fist grinned widely.

"Yes, you begin to understand. Good. Lets begin."

* * *

Dr. Espin Nioge, Global Justice's security savant sat still, his eyes wide with terror, the entirety of his consciousness focused on the blade pressing against his throat. The lithe young Japanese woman wielding the blade was just a detail to him.

"You will disable the surveillance on the prisoners you just brought in." her voice was calm and steady. He flicked a couple of switches, shutting off the feeds from the indicated containment cells. "Good. Now release them."

"I don't have the authority-" he fell silent as the blade pressed harder, drawing a line of blood. He quickly began typing in the requisite codes. "I don't have Dr. Director's code, so there'll be an alarm."

"Acceptable."

He finished typing and, true to his word, an alarm began to sound. Dr. Nioge barely had time to blink before he his world exploded into darkness. Yori reached down to check that she had not killed the man, before slipping out towards the cell blocks. The Chosen One would receive every advantage she could give him in this escape.

* * *

Kim was jolted awake by the sirens and the descent of the rooms. Her arms were restrained and her shoulders burned. The room thudded to a stop and a wall slid open. She staggered out into the empty hallway. Screams of panic echoed from around the near corner. Suddenly a Global Justice agent flew into sight, slamming into the wall with enough force to crack the concrete wall. A massive shape careened around the corner after it.

The first impression Kim had was of size. The beast was the size of a small bear. Spots the color of a forest dotted minty flanks. The sloped silhouette was one she knew from Discovery Channel documentaries. A Hyena.

She froze as the beast's eyes met hers. Emerald met emerald. Kim recognized those eyes. The beast padded over to her, green fire wreathing its jaws. Kim circled it warily, wishing her arms were free. Shego snorted with annoyance, and then, suddenly, was human again.

"Will you hold still? I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You- what- what the hell was that?" Kim sputtered.

"No idea. Just roll with it, princess." Shego reached around Kim, smashing the powerful restraints. Kim arched, stretching her burning muscles and joints. Shego just stared. She was standing intimately close to Kim. She could feel the heat of Kim's body. Her arm was still around Kim's waist. Kim's face was practically offered up to her. It would be so easy. She could feel the strange deja-vu in the back of her mind, an echo of a whisper now. She forced it down. She wanted this herself.

Kim's eyes shot open as she felt Shego's grip tighten suddenly around her waist and Shego's lips crushed against her own. For a moment, panic warred with pleasure.

Shego reveled in the kiss. This was the first one she could actually remember initiating. Kim tasted good. She could feel Kim tensing in her arms, and knew that the kiss was about to end, probably violently.

Kim tensed, readying to push the mint-skinned woman off her. Just before she could, Shego released her and stepped back, flushed and grinning.

"What the hell was that?" Kim stepped forward angrily. Her face was as red as her hair now.

"You taste good, princess."

Kim's response was obliterated by a cry of rage and anguish from around the next corner.

"YORI!"

* * *

The thing that was once Monkey Fist barely noticed as the alarms began to blare. He licked the blood from the young traitor's face. His hands played over the boy's captive body. While not normally a lover of men, he was willing to make certain sacrifices in order to get what he wanted.

It had occurred to him shortly after he had begun the boy's reeducation. It was always his Lunar that rebelled and broke the natural order. It wasn't because the Lunar bond was faulty in some way. It was because he hadn't been caring for it properly. The poor boy was just jealous. Jealous of the affection that was shown to the other two. And while he took no pleasure in it, he was willing to assuage the boy's jealousy.

The traitor kicked out suddenly, bringing the thing that had been Monkey Fist back to the present. It seemed that he was going to have to soften the boy up a bit before they would be ready. The Irresistible Succubus Style needed a couple of minutes to properly take hold. The boy tried to twist out of his grip and was slammed into the wall for his troubles. Yes, the boy would require considerable softening up before he could begin.

His head snapped forward and sparks danced in front of his eyes. Someone had struck him in the back of the skull. He stood and turned, rage twisting his features. He found the girl, that old fool's apprentice standing before him in a ready stance, the Daiklave of Infinite Forms gripped in her hands, still locked in the form of a mortal katana. He sneered as she lashed out, knocking the blade aside easily with one of his prehensile feet. His counterattack left her sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

He staggered forward under a sudden impact from behind. Turning, he found that the boy had gained his balance and, despite his bound arms, had taken up a ready stance. He lashed out with a quick blow to the boy's sternum, only to strike the wall as his captive seemed to flow out of the blow's path. The traitor kicked him again, in the stomach, and he folded in on himself.

He was ready for the boy's next attack though. He caught the boy's foot at the angle on the next kick, forcing him up against the wall. He could see the boy's Caste Mark clearly now, a waxing moon of brilliant silver. He grinned, and allowed his own Caste Mark to break open. A quick blow to the boy's groin left him curled on the ground in agony. The thing that had been Monkey Fist grinned.

His grin faded as his back erupted in pain. The girl had regained her feet and landed a vicious slash against his back. Against a mortal, it would have easily been a lethal blow. He was not a mortal. His skin deflected the blow with the strength and hardness of the lid of a sarcophagus. He whipped around, one of his feet catching hold of her right shoulder. He twisted it, popping the joint out of its socket, and then squeezed. The bone popped and crunched as it was reduced to pulp and splinters. Her scream of pain mingled with the clarion wailing of the sirens and the shouts and cries of Global Justice agents elsewhere in the cell block. That scream was cut off as he wrapped one of his hands around her throat and wrenched, tearing her head from her body. He turned back to his captive and flew backwards into a wall, propelled by a golden furred fist. The golden furred creature paid almost no attention to his captor, instead staring at the broken corpse of his friend. A wail full of anguish and rage rose up from him.

"YORI!"

* * *

Horror burned away the fog of pain that gripped him. He stood in one fluid motion, his arms slipping out of their restrains with barely a thought. He didn't care that golden fur covered his body. He didn't care that he could feel the fingers and thumbs on his feet. He didn't care that he could feel his tail flexing behind him.

Monkey Fist turned towards him, and he struck. The blow sent the alabaster monstrosity flying away from him into a wall. Ron took a step towards Yori's fallen form and let loose a scream, calling out her name to be heard from the pits of the Underworld to the peaks of Heaven. His tail whipped out, lifting the Lotus Blade from her still hand, flicking it into his hand. He could feel Monkey Fist rising behind him. He turned and kicked, slamming the monster's face into another wall. A spiderweb of cracks radiated out from the point of impact. He raised the Lotus Blade, only to be hurled back by a kick to his midsection.

Blood soaked the monster's face, leaking from a mark cut into his forehead, an empty circle surrounded by radial spikes. Hate twisted his angular face. He launched himself after Ron with a flying punch. Ron seemed to flow out of the way, bending backwards under the strike with inhuman agility. Turning the dodge into a back flip, he planted his hands on the ground, balled his feet into fists and let loose a brutal double kick to Monkey Fist's still airborne form, all in the space of a single breath. Monkey Fist smashed against the ceiling before falling back into a brutal ax kick that slammed him to the floor. Ron stood panting in the rain of concrete dust and fragment that rained down from the cracked ceiling.

Ron felt the grip of Monkey Fist's feet on his leg before he was thrown down the hall. As the monster jumped to his feet, an aura of black shadows wreathed him, seeming to outline and emphasis his presence rather than conceal him.

Ron struggled to his feet, pain shooting along every nerve in his body. He raised the Lotus Blade as the pale monstrosity advanced on him. In answer, Monkey Fist raised his fists, from which erupted blades of bone.

The monster's steady advance suddenly turned into a stagger. For a moment, emerald fire flared in his aura of darkness.

"Will you people stop doing that?" he screamed, his voice shrill with rage.

* * *

Shego and Kim rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. They could see ruin of Yori's body, lying half out of the cell. Something that looked like a bleached out Monkey Fist was striding down the hallway, his back to them. At the hall's end a golden furred hybrid of a man and a monkey stood, wreathed in silver light, with a sword raised. Ron.

Shego raised her hand and let loose a blast of emerald energy while Kim charged.

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand cliffhanger! Wheee!


	6. Divergence

Kim charged down the hallway as the thing that was once Monkey Fist turned. She ducked under a wild swing and struck. Only too late did she recognize the feint, as the alabaster freak's elbow connected with the side of her head. She staggered, and a second blow slammed her into the wall.

The thing that had been Monkey Fist was about to strike again when two blazing silver forms smashed into him from either side. At the last second, he twisted, his body moving in a way no human ever could. The blade in Ron's hand passed through the space the pale monster's heart should have been, drawing a shallow gash across his chest. At the same moment, Shego's claws passed through the space where his kidney's should have been.

Time seemed to slow for Ron as he watched the point of the Lotus Blade rushing towards Shego's heart. In that instant, the part of him that knew what it would taste like to lick crystal pear juice from her skin rose up within him. It knew the Lotus Blade, knew it well. The blade turned to quicksilver, flowing backwards in the blink of an eye and the solidifying again, now held in a backhanded grip.

Shego felt the moment stretching out into infinity as her plasma wreathed claws shot out towards Ron's unprotected stomach. Part of her, the part that remembered holding him in the shade of the orchard, rose up then. Her meteor born fires winked out and her hand flexed so that the lethal talons were no longer rushing towards the soft flesh of his belly.

The hilt of the Lotus Blade struck her shoulder as her open palm struck him in the side. They froze then, the thing that had been Monkey Fist arched back like some obscene puppet, Ron and Shego forming a sort of bridge over him. Then he straightened with lightning speed, his open palms slamming into them, hurling them through the air and into the wall and sending the Lotus Blade spinning from Ron's hand.

Just as he was about to regain his feet, Kim's fist met his face, slamming his head back into the wall, sending yet another crazy spiderweb of cracks through the walls and ceiling.

The advantage she had gained was short lived. Almost as soon as he struck the wall he rebounded, delivering a brutal double kick to her midsection. Concrete dust and dirt rained down from the ceiling as yet more cracks appeared.

He hurled himself at her, hate and lust contorting his face into a mask of murder. Before he could reach her, Ron and Shego were driving him back with a brutal double tackle. The narrow corridor shuddered as yet more structural damage was inflicted. Again he hurled them away, this time opting to roll away down the corridor.

He came to his feet and turned to face his adversaries. For a moment the four of them stood there, in the corridor. Then the thing that had been Monkey Fist staggered as the first bullet hit him from behind.

* * *

Doctor Betty Director, head of operations for all of Global Justice, staggered down another corridor, immersing herself in the clarion call of the sirens. She bit her tongue again, using the pain to distract herself from the burning desire that tugged at her loins. She could feel it guiding her to him. A grim grin split her face. One did not become the leader of one of the worlds top intelligence agencies in a world that contained the likes of Dr. Cyrus Bortel without having some experience with mind control. Monkey Fist was in for a surprise.

Her grin widened as she fitted the clip of explosive rounds into her pistol.

* * *

The thing that was once Monkey Fist shrieked with rage as the first bullet punched a crimson hole through his left shoulder. He spun, and the second bullet caught him square in the cheek, opening a rent in his face through which his jawbone and tongue could be seen.

The next shot went wild as he began to advance on her, blowing a baseball sized crater in one of the few stretch of wall not covered in spiderweb cracks.

He sidestepped suddenly, catching Kim as she charged him and throwing her, just as Dr. Director squeezed the trigger again. Kim flew through the air, missing Dr. Director by less than a handspan and slammed into yet another wall. She regained her feet almost instantly, golden fire pouring from her flesh. A smoking hole in her pants exposed a patch of unmarred thigh.

The thing that had been Monkey Fist stood in the middle of the hall, his back to the door of Ron's cell with caught between Ron and Shego at one end of the hall and Kim and Dr. Director at the other. For a moment stillness reigned, the only sound the blaring of the sirens. In the stillness, the thing that had once been Monkey Fist blinked, and ran his tongue along the edge of the hole Dr. Director had blasted in his face. He glanced up as a fresh rain of chunks of concrete, dust and dirt fell upon him. A slow grin twisted his mangled face.

With an inhuman scream, garbled by the rent in his face, he hurled himself back into the cell, slamming his shoulder against the wall as he did so. As he moved, Dr. Director and Shego both opened fire with pistol and plasma. Their shots were swallowed by a torrent of dirt and rubble as the hallway began to collapse.

* * *

Kim and Ron moved with almost perfect symmetry. Each caught their companion by the arm and dived out of the hallway.

* * *

In his mad dive out of the hall, Ron had somehow managed to land on his back with Shego on top of him. They lay there for a minute, trying to catch their breaths.

His eyes snapped open as she suddenly pressed closer to him, her hand pinning his wrists to the ground. His expression turned to near panic as he felt her lips just barely brushing his ear.

"Was it good for you?" She whispered, then laughed and rolled off of him.

Ron stared at her, a noise somewhere between terror and arousal rising up from the back of his throat. He backed up into a wall, his eyes locked on her.

"While I'm flattered, and a bit terrified, actually mostly terrified, actually mostly flattered and a bit turned on, and terrified, I'm dating Kim you know, and I really love her and-" he trailed off as she stalked towards him and straddled his lap.

"I know that. I'm willing to share her with you. After all, I'm after the complete set." she whispered, pinning his wrists again and grinding her hips into his. "And why so afraid? I don't bite. Much."

The effect on him was instantaneous and unexpected. He sat up, freeing his wrists and spilling her out of his lap. His face shifted from a confused battlefield of fear and lust into a mask of preoccupation.

"Whats with that saying? Its like one of the oldest cliche's in the book. And what's so great about biting anyways-"

Shego stared at him as he continued his rant, a look of bemused fondness creeping up across her face. The thought rose unbidden from the back of her mind. The more he changed, the more he stayed the same.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her expression darkened. "On my own fucking terms damn it." she whispered to herself.

Ron barely seemed to notice, having embarked on a full scale rant about film noir cliches.

* * *

Kim and Dr. Director struggled to their feet.

"He's still alive." Dr. Director gasped, staring at the debris filling the hallway. "He's still in my head."

"What the hell has been going on down here? Why is Monkey Fist here?"

"He arrived two days ago, an hour after you were released from observation. Whatever it is thats given Team Possible and Shego a boost appears to have given him some new tricks as well. In addition to what you just saw, he has demonstrated the ability to control emotions. He's terrorized most of the command staff into obedience. Myself included."

Kim sat back and closed her eyes, trying to absorb what she had heard.

"We need to get out of here."

"I have considered that. However, this is a detention level. Only one elevator."

"And thats blocked off I assume?"

"Quite. All we can do now is hope that Monkey Fist was right about Shego and Ron."

Kim stared at Dr. Director for a moment.

"What, exactly, did he have to say about Shego and Ron?" There was an edge to her voice.

* * *

Dr. Drakken stared at the obsidian sphere that floated over the command console and let the twisted mutterings of the central nodes wash over him. Four points of light, one gold, two silver and the fourth a bruised purple, blazed, practically on top of each other, in the northwestern hemishpere. He smiled. Technology was such a wonderful thing.

He turned to the third node, a young man, a boy really, barely out of puberty.

"Send in the nemissaries, along with a strikeforce of ghosts and animated corpses. I want them just barely alive. Its time to show Kim Possible what Drakken is really capable of!"

* * *

Bit of a short update. This term has been more than a little busy.

Actually, if anyone has any suggestions for really, really cheesy villian dialog, I'd be most welcome. I'm looking for Large Ham to the max for Drakken.


	7. Shade

"Tell me what, exactly, did he have to say about Shego and Ron?" There was an edge to Kim's voice. A subtle vibration filled the air. The blazing aura of golden light that surrounded her suddenly coalesced into a whirling mandala of gold and crimson.

"Quite a bit, but very little of it coherent. I don't remember most of it. Whatever he's done to my mind, it makes it hard to focus. He thinks you, all of you, betrayed him somehow. That you belong to him. He said that Stoppable and Shego were the key." Dr. Director's face darkened as she spoke.

"Dr. Director?" the edge was out of Kim's voice, replaced by concern. "What's wrong?"

"You're in my head. You're making me want to tell you what you want to know." Dr. Director's gaze locked with Kim's and she raised her gun. "Do that again, and I will kill you. Do you understand?"

"I didn't mean-"

"I said, do you understand? I've had enough of Monkey Fist fucking with my head, I'm not going to allow you or anyone else to as well."

"Yes, I understand."

"Good." Dr. Director relaxed a little, lowering the gun. "We might not be able to get out, but there might be something we can do to expedite our rescue."

* * *

"Yeah, we're not getting through that," Shego stated. Illustrating her point, she launched a blast of emerald at the wall of ruble and dirt.

"We aren't even considering leaving them." the silver and blue aura blazing around him flared

"Any ideas on getting them out?" she said, sarcasm seeping into her voice. "This is the prison level. Bottom floor, twelve feet below the next floor up, only accessible via the central elevator shaft. Oh, and the ventilation system is way to small for a human to fit through. And are you even paying attention to me?"

Ron was staring at the Lotus Blade.

* * *

Kim stared as the miniature containment cell zoomed down the pneumatic tube and locked into place with a hiss. As Dr. Director reached out to open the cell's lid, a small pink shape burst out through its side.

Rufus rebounded off the wall, diving to the floor and rolling to his feet. Dr. Director, acting on instincts honed over decades of training, reached for her gun. Before her hand could complete the journey, Rufus blurred, leaping first onto her pants leg then to her arm, blazing into blue and silver fire as he moved. She froze as she felt his teeth pressing into the soft meat of her wrist.

"Hnk, no gun!" he chittered, angrily.

"You arrested Rufus?" the edge had returned to Kim's voice. "Have you done anything to Wade? Or our parents?"

"Yes, we detained Stoppable's pet, on Monkey Fist's orders. The same goes for Dr. Load who is next on our itinerary. Your parents are quite safe. Monkey Fist didn't seem to care about them. Now get off me." the hairless rodent looked from Dr. Director to Kim uncertainly. Then he dashed along Dr. Director's arm and leaped to Kim's shoulder, where the perched, eyeing Dr. Director distrustfully.

"Where's Wade?" the edge had not left Kim's voice.

"Follow me."

* * *

Shego watched in amused fascination from where she stood, well out the range of the flying dirt and rocks. The Lotus Blade was dramatically proving why it was both the ultimate weapon and the ultimate tool. Ron had already excavated a tunnel several yards deep into the rubble that filled the corridor.

Shego stepped forward when the whirring of the giant drill he had shaped the Lotus Blade into fell silent. Ron stood near the end of the tunnel, wiping the sweat from his grim covered brow. As she watched, he began to strip off his sweat soaked shirt.

He started as the low wolf whistle cut the air, pulling the shirt back down and spinning to face the mint skinned woman.

"Don't stop now. It was just getting good. Although you might want to go a bit slower next time. Makes a better show." her expression was one of almost impish mischief. He found himself backing into a wall while she advanced on him for the second time in less than an hour. "Kimmie needs to teach you to do a proper strip tease."

He stammered something unintelligible as she pressed up against him, pinning him against the wall. The stammering intensified as he felt the cloth of his shirt tearing under her claws, and the devolved to a moan as she grazed the clean flesh of his exposed collarbone with her teeth.

"So, you get whats so great about biting yet, or do you want a more thorough," she ground her hips into his for emphasis, "demonstra-"

She was cut off as the tunnel wall behind Ron's back collapsed.

The two of them found themselves lying in Ron's cell, staring at the gaping hole in the ceiling.

"Okay, so it isn't impossible to dig your way out of here. Who knew." Shego said.

* * *

The thing that had been Monkey Fist wrenched open the elevator door, dragging two semi conscious GJ agents in after him. His victims' screams fell silent as the doors whirred shut and the elevator began to descend.

* * *

Agent Rote Hemd felt a certain degree of satisfaction as he entered the command to drop the steel shutters, sealing the base off from the outside and trapping the intruders in the access shafts. His deep seated paranoia about any active field assignment had left him in the right place and the right time to save the base.

His satisfaction melted into shock as the intruders continued to advance, unhindered by the inches thick steel plates blocking their path. His shock soured into fear and then horror as he activated defense after defense without effect. As the first of the spectral figures stepped through the electrified walls of the command booth, confusion was added to horror. His last words words before one of the ghostly things struck him down were full of bewilderment.

"Agent Entbehrlich?"

* * *

"Wade!" Kim shouted as the boy genius rounded the corner in front of them, brandishing a GJ stun watch.

"Kim! Rufus! You're on fire!" he lowered the stun watch and took a half step forward before catching sight of Dr. Director. Eyes wide, he raised the stun watch and aimed it at her. "Get away from her! She's the one who gave the order to arrest us!"

"Calm down Wade. Monkey Fist was controlling her. You can put the stunner down." Kim's voice was soothing.

"Okay." Wade drew out the word, filling it with as much skepticism as he could. "So, whats with the whole glowy battle aura thing? Are you going Super Sayin on us?"

"Dr. Load, how did you escape? We confiscated all your equipment and your cell was shielded." Dr. Director cut in, her voice calm.

Wade grinned, reached down to his forearm and peeled off what looked like a perfectly normal strip of skin. He held up the brown strip before slapping it against the wall where it stuck. A second later, the strip's color had changed, melding perfectly with the concrete. Glowing lines like traceries of circuitry sprouted from the patch and burrowed into the wall, before themselves vanishing.

"Omni-interfacing nano-patch. Based on the principles of the Hephaestus project. Still in the testing phases, but it looks like its working pretty well." He said as he peeled the patch off the wall and replied it to his arm.

"Wade, you rock. You have anything that could help us clear a corridor full of dirt and rubble?"

"I'd need to reconfigure the patch, but the living metal nanos might be of use."

Dr. Director followed after them, her eyes narrowing slightly.

* * *

Covered in dirt and grime, Ron and Shego heaved aside the last slab of broken concrete and emerged into the hall. They stood for a moment, catching their breaths. The both looked up in supprise as the alarm sirens suddenly cut off.

"About time." Shego groused. "Things were giving me a headache."

"Same here. Lets go find Kim." Ron started off down the corridor. He stopped, halfway to the end of the hall, and stared quizzically at the lighting strips. "Hey Shego, are the lights still on?"

Shego stared at him for a second before following his gaze. The light of their combined auras was more than enough to overwhelm the florescent bulbs that normally illuminated GJ headquarters. Now it seemed that the lights had gone completely dark.

"Lets find Kimmie and get the hell out of here."

* * *

Kim saw the silver light moments before Ron and Shego rounded the corner. As Kim and Ron caught sight of each other, they hurled themselves together in a passionate embrace. Rufus, narrowly avoiding being crushed, joined in as best he could. Dr. Director and Wade looked away in embarrassment, while Shego looked on, a hit of envy and longing creeping into her expression.

"Rufus!" Ron cried, as he noticed his pet. "What are you doin' here little buddy?"

"Dr. Director had him arrested. Along with Wade." Kim said with a touch of anger in her voice. She nodded to where Team Possible's technical savant was standing.

Ron looked like he was about to say something when Shego cut in. "'Kay, we've got the Princess, now lets get the hell out of here before anyone upstairs comes to their senses and decides to try and contain us."

"Someone already has, actually." Dr. Director's voice was calm. "Before I followed Monkey Fist down here, I gave the containment order. The elevator that connects this level to the one above has been cut off and can only be activated by a member of the command staff. Fortunately, you have a member of the command staff with you. Now, I find myself forced to agree with Shego; we need to evacuate with all possible speed. If you would show us the way you got through the debris?"

* * *

Kim, flanked on either side by Ron and Shego, watched as Dr. Director fiddled with the elevator controls.

Dr. Director swore under her breath as she tried to summon the elevator. "Dr. Load, I think I need your help. The elevator is requiring additional verification to activate the backup generator. But that is only required during a power outage. And since the lights are still on, something else must be affecting the system."

"Newsflash Doc, the lights cut out same time the sirens did." An element of contempt colored Shego's voice.

"What-" Dr. Director's reply was cut short as, with a whirr, the elevator began to descend. "I didn't do that," she said, stepping back.

A blazing nimbus of darkness poured out as the elevator doors slid open. The thing that had been Monkey Fist stepped out, grinning.

"I think its time to finish this, once and for all. No more surprises." He managed to take a single step forward before his head snapped back and he collapsed to the ground.

"It is my honor to disagree," the ghostly figure of the young woman said, straightening up from the strike she had just launched.


	8. Escape

"Yori?" Shock filled Ron's voice. "I saw Monkey Fist kill you!"

"That is true, Stoppable-san. Fortunately, it seems that being dead is no longer the hindrance it once was." As the shock of her sudden entrance faded, Team Possible took in the changes that had gripped the risen Yori. Her skin had taken on the color of old parchment, her hair had faded from jet black to ash gray and her once lively eyes now seemed clouded and dull. Most striking, however, was the ragged scar ringing her neck. She took in their their stares for a moment before continuing. "Unfortunately, I fear that I am not the only one to take advantage of this. Even now, a host of the dishonorable dead descends upon us. Fortunately, they seemed more concerned with securing each level in turn than anything else. It should be some time before they reach us."

Kim was the first to rally. "Setting aside how utterly freaky the whole dead rising thing is for a moment. Whats happening to the GJ agents up there?"

"They are dying, and their lower souls are being raised to bolster the numbers of our attackers."

"I don't know what a lower soul is, but does anyone else think that sounds just a little bit ominous?" Shego interjected.

"It is Stoppable-san would say, 'wrongsick'," for a moment, it seemed that Yori would continue. Then the thing that was once Monkey Fist groaned and began to rise. A swift kick to the side from the dead ninja sent him sprawling again. As he fell he began to laugh, a sick, gurgling thing distorted by the gaping hole in his cheek.

"Not as enlightened as your master would have liked, are you? He, at least, had the good sense to go to Lethe. Not that-" his mocking voice was cut off as she kicked him again.

"Not to interrupt, but shouldn't we be getting out of here?" Shego said, already standing in the elevator. "I'd rather get out of here without having to deal with any more undead, and the research labs are on the next floor up from here."

"Ahh, Shego, how does 'science lab' translate to 'escape route'? And what are we going to do with Monkey Fist?" Ron asked.

"One word, Monkey Boy. 'Transportulator'. They keep all the mad science they capture up there, and they've been working on reverse engineering the Transportulator since you brought it in. As for the Monkey Man, I say we leave him to deal with the dead."

"We aren't leaving him here. He needs to face justice for what he's done." Dr. Director's voice was cold.

"Actually, I must agree with Shego-san. There is a particular hungry ghost down here that has its own plans for justice against this monster." Yori's smile as she said this was cold.

"And whose ghost would that be, seeing as you're coming with us?" Kim asked.

"Why, mine Possible-san. This," Yori gestured to herself "is my higher soul. My lower soul will rise with sunset. And then it will come hunting for its murderer."

Dr. Director stared at the dead girl with an incredulously for a second or two before a look of resignation crossed her features.

"I suppose I'll have to accept that. Dragging him along with us would be decidedly impractical." Dr. Director said, stepping into the elevator. When the rest of the group had entered the elevator, she hit the single button on the control panel. The the door sealed, and the elevator began to rise. The thing that used to be Monkey Fist surged to his feet, grinning.

* * *

The thing that used to be Monkey Fist stood in the hallway in front of the elevator and grinned. He turned and headed down the corridor to where he had left Yori's broken body. After a while, something stirred under the rubble, and a ghostly figure rose up. It was Yori, her neck a ruin of blood and torn flesh. With a moan, it charged the thing that was, once upon a time, Monkey Fist. With a wicked grin, he caught her as her ghostly flesh solidified for an attack and threw her against a wall. A lightning quick blow shattered one of her legs. As the hungry ghost fell to the floor, the thing that was once Monkey Fist pounced, pinning it to the ground. It screamed and tried to bite him, desperate to avenge its murder. He grinned, and leaned down to whisper in its ear.

"You know, I bet I can guess who sent those ghosts. Fate does so love symmetry. My rebellious Lunar Mate, my greatest enemy of the First Age, is incarnated as my nemesis of this age. So I'm betting that my old ally will find himself incarnated in Possible's nemesis, Drakken. And when his troops finally get down here and bring me to him, I'll bring you along too, and I'll have him forge you into Soulsteel. He'll make you into a match for your beloved little Lotus Blade. Won't that be nice."

* * *

The elevator door slid open and six people and one hairless rodent spilled out. The combined light of Team Possible and Shego's Anima Banners illuminated the sterile corridor.

"Which way?" Kim asked, turning to Dr. Director.

"Follow me." The one eyed woman said, striding down the hall with purpose. Team Possible and the rest followed. The silence crept in around them as they followed the one eyed woman through a maze of corridors.

The attack came with brutal suddenness. In one moment, they were walking down an empty hall. In the next a wave of nauseating vapors were filling the corridor and the dead were spilling around the corners, both before and behind. In an instant, the horde in front was met with a wave of blazing green as Shego opened fire. In the next, Kim and Ron hurled themselves the throng of the dead, while Yori turned to meet the the corpses approaching from behind.

Kim spun and lashed out with a kick, hurling one of the walking corpses into a group of its fellows, knocking them down like bowling pins. A quick snap punch left another corpse staggering back. As the crowd surged in around her, she jumped, handstanding on the head of one of the attackers and flipped to the far side of the horde. As the dead turned to pursue, she tore into them, her blows shattering the corpses like kindling.

Ron dove into the crowd, the Lotus Blade spinning with wild abandon. In the middle of the crowd he paused and raised the Lotus Blade. The silvery katana shifted suddenly in his hands, and he was holding a silvery chainsaw. As the engine roared into life, he brought it down in a wide arc, scything through the corpses that assailed him.

Shego hurled herself into the throng behind the group like a bowling ball. The green-magnesium brilliance of her glow tore through the undead like tissue paper.

Yori flowed into the gap Shego's passing left, tearing into those walking corpses that Shego missed.

In short order, the horde of walking dead had been reduced to nothing.

"Booyah!" Ron yelled, holding the Lotus Blade chainsaw a lot in triumph. "I always said the chainsaw was better than the flamethrower! Suck it Zombie Mayhem 4!" He grinned even wider as Kim shook her head bemusedly. His grin faltered, however, as he turned to meet the icy gaze of Dr. Director. Once she was sure she had his attention, she glanced down. As he followed her gaze, he found himself staring into the blank eyes of a familiar face.

He wasn't anyone particularly special, just a GJ pilot that had been assigned to ferry them to a few of their missions for the agency. Ron looked up to meet Dr. Directo's eye.

"A little decorum would be appreciated," she said, through gritted teeth.

After a brief and awkward silence, Kim spoke up.

"How much further to the labs?"

"We're almost there. The first decontamination lock is just ahead. Each lab has its own generator and line out. You'll hear the climate control systems before too long. Now lets move. I don't want to have to see any more of my agents like that."

* * *

True to her prediction, the hum of the labs' environmental controls soon filled the halls. Rounding a corner, they found themselves staring at the doors of the decontamination locks. Dr. Director stepped forward and applied pressure to a patch of wall next to the doors. A small panel slid back, revealing a keypad. After keying in a long code, she stepped back and the doors slid open.

"Executive override recognized. Decontamination bypassed. Readying lockdown procedures." A pleasant female voice said.

"Alright, everyone move. When we're through I'll trigger the lockdown and set a countdown for self destruct." Dr. Director said, hurrying through the open doors, Wade close beside her.

"That would be unfortunate. Tragic even." A sibilant hissed from behind them. They whirled, Shego launching a blast of green energy at the source of the voice. The former GJ agent who had spoken was hurled against the wall, its chest cavity crushed. As it crumpled to the ground, a strange, indistinct figure was left standing where it had struck. A second blast passed right through its chest, blowing a crater in the wall but leaving it unharmed. A strange, hissing laughter filled the hall.

"Well damn. I thought that body might last a bit longer. The Unrepentant Dragon demands your presence. You will attend. Suitably humbled, of course." As it finished speaking, it made a quick gesture. Half a dozen transparent figures stepped out of the walls, surrounding Team Possible and their allies. Most wore the faces of dead GJ agents, twisted with rage. All were covered in plates of black iron, seeming to be almost as much welding patches as armor, and all carried clubs of the same iron. Another blast of Shego's glow failed to have any effect on these either.

The figure nearest Kim swung at her and she reeled back from the impact of its club to her midsection. Her counterstrike passed harmlessly through it, and another blow to her back sent her sprawling into the wall. The rest of the spectral figures began to advance, their clubs raised to unleash more of the same.

They paused as a deafening shout filled the corridor. As her cry faded, Yori spun into motion, her body taking on the same transparent quality of their attackers. Her foot caught one of the attackers square in the midsection, sending it crumpled to the floor.

"Go now! I will follow when I am done here!" She yelled, sliding under the club of another specter to strike its wielder a decisive blow to the throat.

Shego wasted no time grabbing Kim and Ron and dragging them through the lock. Kim and Ron both struggled in her grip.

"We aren't leaving her!" Ron yelled, tugging free from Shego's grip.

"She can handle herself. And how the hell do you expect to help her? Now lets go!" Shego grabbed him again and resumed dragging the two teens after Dr. Director and Wade.

* * *

They found themselves in another hallway lined with doors, this one brightly lit. Each door was marked with a profusion of warning signs. Dr. Director was standing next to a door labeled Anomalous High Energy Research, fiddling with a keypad. She swore softly, then punched the door. With a hiss, it slid open.

The room was pristine. The walls, ceiling and floor were all glaringly white, making the depth of the room difficult to judge. Lining the walls were two rows of recessed alcoves, each hermetically sealed, and each containing a device of some sort or another. Many of the devices stored were familiar to Team Possible from past missions.

The Transportulator was in one of the first alcoves they saw. As Dr. Director approached, a holographic keypad appeared hovering in front of the seal. As the holograph dissolved, she stepped forward and presented her eye to a small panel in the wall.

"Identity Confirmed; Dr. Director, Global Justic C&C. Breaking seal." A pleasant male baritone said as the clear plastic seal slid into the floor.

"Override one seven seven nine seven three seven." Dr. Director said. A small section of the alcove's wall slid away, and a phone jack emerged, already fitted with the special adapter that allowed the Transportulator to function. "Alright everyone, here's how we're going to do this. Team Possible goes through first and makes sure the exit is secure. Then Shego follows, then me, the Dr. Load. Dr. Load, I need you to rig the device to self destruct after you come through. Everyone got that?" Before anyone had a chance to respond, she turned back to the Transportulator and keyed in a number. She swore as nothing happened, and tried another. The fourth number produced a ringing sound, but Dr. Director hung up before contact could be established. "They've cut both the the main and the special lines out. We can transport anywhere in the base where someone is willing to pick up the phone, but we can't get out." A small, almost hysterical laugh escaped her lips. "We're fucking trapped."

Shego grinned, letting go of Kim and Ron's hands and punched in a number considerably longer than a normal phone number. The Transportulator rang twice before the other end engaged. Dr. Director stared at the mint skinned woman with incredulity.

"How?" she asked.

"Oh come on. Pretty much everyone knows where you are. And a lot of them know about the Transportulator, what with Dementor going on and on about it. Are you really so surprised that some of the more technically inclined supercriminals have tapped your special lines for their own use?" Shego was grinning smuggly.

"So that leads to one of Drakken's bases?" Kim asked, a worried look on her face.

"Nope. Doctor D never really was all that much on the ball. I just set up my own tap on one of the other taps. The number I just called leads to one of my personal hidy holes. So, lets get out of here." She pressed the send button and vanished. After a second Ron and Rufus stepped forward and pressed the button, vanishing. Kim blinked, struggling to suppress the urge to follow immediately herself. "Give it half a minute after I go so that Ron and I can clear the area if there are any traps." She said, before pressing the send button herself and vanishing.

As she vanished, the Transportulator exploded into a shower of sparks. Wade stared at the device for a half a second before rushing forward to survey the damage. Dr. Director collapsed back against a wall, choking back a sob.

* * *

The microcircuits and wires of the Transportulator came alive with purpose as the send button was pressed. Minute components not found on any other circuit board before suddenly activated, transforming the intended user from base physical matter into a stream of electricity. The electricity that poured out of the converters and into the phone line was unlike any electricity these wire had ever seen. It leaped from atom to atom almost playfully, like a thing of living quicksilver. It poured down the wire to a point were an almost organic claw had spliced itself in. It diverted from the main wire and up into the claw's line. Suddenly, it reached another intersection, where a strange device had been attached. Again, the stream of electricity diverted, flowing up along this new line and finally flowing out into the receiver of a small phone in a cave hidden in the forests over Middleton.

Seconds later another wild, living stream poured through the lines, following the first. It was followed by a far more mundane, although unusually brief, stream of electricity.

Then a fourth stream blazed through the system. The converters that turned matter into electricity fused and melted under the onslaught. The wires twisted and distorted as the the stream tore through them. The claw like tap bent and twisted as the coruscating energy tore through it. The second tap simply exploded. The peripheries of the signal, those bits not imbued with the blazing power that suffused its core, were stripped away by the destruction. But the blazing core itself pushed forward, jumping gaps and blazing new paths through twisted metal to remain together.

* * *

Ron and Shego were regaining their feet when Kim exploded out of the phone, bowling them over into a pile. As she struggled to untangle herself from the pile of bodies, she heard a strangled noise from Ron.

"Ron, whats wrong?" she asked, then stiffened as she felt a glove clad finger tracing a line up the inside of her thigh. The naked inside of her thigh. A glance down confirmed that she was naked, while Ron and Shego were fully clothed.

"Hnk, naked!" the cheerfully clothesless little rodent piped in from where he stood well out of reach on a shelf.

With lightning speed, Kim rolled across the cave floor to a small cot in the corner. Snatching the sheet up, she wrapped it around herself.

"Awww, do you have to?" Shego whined playfully. "Ronnie and I really appreciate the view, don't we Ronnie?" Ron choked, spluttering helplessly as Shego laughed. Kim glared at the mint skinned woman.

"We're going to have company pretty soon, if case you forgot." Kim snapped. Then she paused, and blushed. "Anyways, why would I want to be naked in the same room as you anyway!" she shouted.

Shego's laughter redoubled. She turned to Ron and was about to say something when she noticed that his gaze was fixed on something across the room. Her laughter died as she followed his gaze. As her expression sobered, Kim turned to follow their gaze.

The phone they had teleported in with lay in smoking ruin.

"Oh shit." Kim said.


	9. Alternate Tracks

Yori ran through the bleak forest outside Middleton. One did not need to be a ninja or trained in any spiritual disciplines to realize that these were not the same woods the living walked through. The trees were utterly black and twisted, looking almost like the shadows of trees cast on a canvas. The forest floor was dead and the air still. It was the sky, however, that clinched it. No conditions in the living world could possibly bring about the flat, dead greyness overhead. The fact that she, an immaterial ghost in the living world, was solid and able to interact with the world around herself without any great exertion of will was also a factor.

A sudden rustling from the direction of the ruins of the town caused her to freeze. In a blur of movement, she pressed herself up against a tree and vanished. The rustling quickly grew in volume, and she almost gagged when the source scuttled into sight.

It looked like a gigantic centipede, save that each segment was instead a hollowed out human torso, with its head thrust into the cavity where the waist should be on the segment before. Each segment was wrapped in a harness of cruel spikes and hooks. Six men holding black iron goads and leashes attached to a ring around the lead segment's neck ran beside it. As the thing approached Yori's hiding place, its handlers' slowed, dragging it to a halt. One larger than the rest knelt down, running its hands over the ground.

"See anything?" one of the smaller ones asked.

"They've met up with another group, coming up from that direction," the larger one pointed, "and they've headed off in that direction," again, he pointed.

"Fullständig, Precis, take a third of the chain and backtrack. The rest of us will follow the group," the smaller one said. Obediently, the two indicated unhooked their leashes and ran to a segment approximately a third of the length from the tail end of the thing. Grabbing the segment by the shoulders, they yanked its head out of the segment in front of it and hooked their leashes into the iron ring around its neck. Then they ran off the way the large one had first pointed. The remaining four started off in the second direction indicated. Yori stayed still for just a moment before darting off in pursuit of the larger group. It was better than simply running directionless through the bleak forest.

She kept pace with them for nearly half an hour. It was childishly simple for the Yamanouchi trained ninja to remain hidden from the monster and its handlers. She was running through the treetops near the front of the monster when some instinct made her freeze. The thing ran on for a few more yards, then the ground exploded. The leading handler and several leading segments were torn apart by the violence of the explosion, and the rest of the handlers were thrown to the ground. As the remaining chain reared up, shoving itself free from the torn and blasted segments still clinging to it, two small rockets shot out of the forest ahead and slammed into it, further decimating its numbers. Yori could see two small, red headed figures running back into the forest.

The first handler to rise barely had time to gain his feet before a small, lithe figure dropped down from the tree beside him, snatched his black iron goad from his hand, and unceremoniously caved his head in. The other handlers didn't have a chance to rise as Yori glided among them, lashing out with her captured goad.

With the last handler dealt with, she turned to deal with the monster. The initial ambush had decimated its numbers, but three smaller chains encompassing nearly two dozen segments still moved, trying to circle her.

Suddenly, one of the chains charged forwards. Yori spun out of the way and brought the goad down on the neck of the leading segment. The neck snapped with a sickening crunch and the chain convulsed.

As she moved to get clear, one of the spikes of its harness caught her arm, drawing a long gash from elbow to wrist. Instead of blood, a pale mist flowed from the cut. The segment behind the first reached up and pushed the now broken segment off.

The other two chains charged Yori. At the last minute, she jumped, back flipping out their paths. The two chains collided and tangled together, the hooks and barbs of their harnesses digging into each other. The first chain tried to swarm over the twisted pileup after her. Instead, it found itself added to the tangle.

Yori had only a brief whistling sound as warning when another rocket hurtled out of the forest to strike the tangle at its center. The resulting explosion tore the chains to pieces and knocked Yori off her feet. Two nearly identical young redheaded boys stepped into the clearing that the explosions had created. One carried some sort of rocket launcher, the other what looked like the controller for a remote control car or airplane.

"Hika-bicka-boo?" the one carrying the rocket launcher asked.

"Hoo-sha!" the one with the controller responded.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Dr. Director stared up through blood caked eyes at the blue skinned monster that stood above her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the illustrious Dr. Director. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Doctor Drakken asked, smiling broadly. Dr. Director spat a gob of blood and phlegm onto his pants leg. The villain let out a decidedly girlish shriek. "What did you have to do that for? I like these pants!" he whined, sticking his leg out to stare at the stain.

"I don't know what's worse, the torture or your whining." Dr. Director grinned through bloody lips at her captor.

"Has no one been listening to what I've been saying about hurting with our words? What is with these snarky redheads? First Shego, then Kim Possible and now you? When will I be free of you all?" Doctor Drakken yelled, petulantly.

"Shego has black hair." Dr. Director's grin widened slightly at the expression of rage that filled the blue man's face.

"That's it! Hold her mouth shut!" he yelled. Two zombies shambled forwards and grabbed the one eyed woman by the head, forcing her jaw shut with inhuman strength. Her eyes widened as Doctor Drakken rummaged around in his jacket and pulled out a long, thick needle and a length of leather. She tried to scream as he pinched her lips together and began to sew.

"There. Now that there won't be any more _interruptions_," the mad scientist glared at the prone woman, "we can get on with it. Now, as you know, you have been a thorn in the side of the villainous community for quite some time, and there are quite a few out there who would be willing to pay quite dearly to get their hands on you, and hey, my current project is very expensive. So I was thinking that I might auction you off to the highest bidder." He walked over to a small intercom mounted on the wall and said something too quiet to hear. Turning back to Dr. Director, he grinned. "But we both know who would win that auction, so I decided to skip all the bother." The door to the room slip open and the giant frame of Gemini strode in.

The one eyed man froze as he took in the state of his sister. Thick manacles restrained her arms and legs. Her clothes were torn and covered in grime and blood. A fine tracery of cuts surrounded the exposed socket of her missing eye, highlighting it like the makeup of some terrible whore. She was flanked by two of the shambling animated corpses that Drakken seemed to have replaced his henchmen with. The gigantic man's lone eye lingered on her recently stitched together lips.

Regaining his composure, he turned to Doctor Drakken. He had to suppress a wince at the mad scientist's skeletal and poxed appearance. "I've deposited the funds in your account. I'll be taking Betty now."

"Yes, yes, of course. Well ta! I have business to attend to." Doctor Drakken wandered out the room.

Dr. Director struggled to raise her head high enough to meet her brother's eye. He gestured to two of his agents and walked out the door. The agents grabbed her and dragged her after him. After several minutes they exited the maze of carved passages into a large hanger complex. She was dragged to a WEE hoverjet and thrown into the cargo hold. As the hold's hatch closed, she passed into unconsciousness.

* * *

Dr. Director wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious when she woke to a tugging at the leather thongs sealing her lips shut. She opened her eye slowly as the tugging continued. Her lips parted in a gasp as the last thong of leather was cut. The three foot long mechanical spider perched on her chin waved to her in what was almost a cheerful manner as it pulled the binding loose and jumped down to the floor. Her eye darted around the small dark cell she occupied. It was illuminated by a soft green glow and utterly bare. She tried to rise, expecting horrible agony from her abused muscles. Instead, she felt refreshed, the wounds that had been inflicted on her almost completely faded. Only the horrible ruin of her lips remained.

A scraping noise caught her attention. The mechanical spider was dragging a wooden box towards her. Noticing that it had her attention, it popped the top of the box open and gestured to the small scroll inside it. Cautiously, she unrolled the scroll. By the soft green glow that seemed to fill the chamber she read:

_To: Dr. Betty Director, Chosen of Secrets_

_From: Oversight_

_Your mission is to escape from your current incarceration alive. A New-Pattern Spider has been dispatched to provide you with information vital to your success._

_Projections suggest no Exalted interference in this task. Be warned, however, that the mortal Sheldon Director, AKA Gemini, has recruited renegade elements from the Yamanouchi Ninja School. 7 Enlightened Mortals trained in Yamanouchi style supernatural martial arts__ have been identified to be in his employ._

_Estimated Probability of Enlightened Mortal Presence: 98.1%_

_Estimated Probability of hidden Fair Folk Presence: 28.3%_

_Estimated Probability of hidden Infernal Presence: 18.1%_

Dr. Director stared at the scroll for a few seconds. "What the-" she was cut off as the New-Pattern Spider leaped to her shoulder and sunk its fangs into her neck. In a moment, everything had faded to black.

* * *

_He sat staring at the maps that covered the conference table, his head supported by his hands. Two of the Dawn Castes at the table were shouting at each other and gesturing at the maps, something about fresh movement on the part of the Infernal forces outside of the Lap. He looked up as he felt a young Chosen of Battles lean over him._

_"Sir, the agents you sent out have returned. The news is not good." the young Sidereal was nervous._

_"Go on," the old Chosen of Secrets said._

_"The Mask of Winters is far more ready to strike at the Blessed Isle than anticipated. He's going to hit the Sword of Creation in less than a week." the Chosen of Battles said._

_"What?" the old man shouted standing and slamming his hands down on the conference table. "How the did we miss this?"_

_The other Exalts around the table paused and turned to look at him. He turned to a Twilight who had been in quite conference with a New Moon and a Chosen of Serenity._

_"What are the current projections on the repairs to the Sword of Creation?"_

_"It looks bad. The bitch__ did a number on the essence grid. She almost managed to realign the primary flow to the aspect of the Ebon Dragon. Right now it'd be quicker to rig the whole damn thing to overload than anything else."_

_Everyone at the table blinked at that. Recovering, one of the Dawns spoke up._

_"The Sword is a top priority. If it looks like its going to fall, detonate it. I'll lead a squadron of raiders to harass the Mask of Winter's forces."_

_"It won't be enough." the second Dawn said, turning to the old Sidereal, "Chejop__, we need to unleash the Kukla."_

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Wade started in fright as the door to his cell slid open and Drakken stepped in.

"Hello there young man. Today is a bright new day for you. Today you get to help an actual scientist out in his lab." The blue man's smile reminded Wade of a skull's grin.

"Uh, that's alright. I've actually had done some work in professional labs before. I'll pass," the young boy stammered.

"Nonsense! Come along, there is so much you'll need to be acquainted with before you're ready to help me integrate that wonderful nanomachinery you designed for Kim Possible's little supersuit and that ingenious nanointerface you're carrying around."

Wade choked. He hadn't been able to interface with Drakken' systems, but he was certain he hadn't been detected trying.

"Oh, it's not so surprising that they didn't work. They're designed to work with electrical based systems, not Essence based systems. But you should be able to adapt them to my purposes none the less. I'd do it myself, but I have to teach the damn smithy ghosts to smelt Soulsteel. It's not nearly as hard as they're making it out to be. So much to do and so little time," the madman rambled as he dragged the young genius through the halls of his fortress. Wade only half heard him. He was too busy staring at the whispering skulls that hung from the ceiling.

"And here we are, the main lab." Drakken said, cutting through Wade's horrified reverie.

The room was vast, carved seemingly from polished basalt. Workbenches filled the space. Some were covered in electronic equipment, other in devices that looked like they came out of a steampunk nightmare. Most, however, were covered in corpses in various states of dissection.

The center of the chamber was dominated by a towering suit of what looked a bit like powered armor designed for a monster. Its general outline seemed to blend qualities of the canine and the gorilla. Its head looked like something out of the Aliens series. Its arms ended in long, wicked talons. Along each side of the things sloped spine were a half dozen open gaps.

Standing at things feet was the thing that was once Monkey Fist. Drakken paused when he noticed the pale, simian man and glowered.

"I thought I told you to go collect DNAmy." Drakken said, petulance creeping into his voice.

"And I told you that I don't take orders from you, do you understand _**that,**_ Dragon?" the thing that was once Monkey Fist's voice was shrill.

"The name is Drakken. With a 'k'. Two 'k's, actually. Is that really so hard to remember? Where the hell is Shego? She at least gets my name sort of right!"

The thing that was once Monkey Fist winced as Drakken used his own name.

"I've already told you, dimwit. Your green little whore has joined up with Team Possible."

Anger flashed across the mad scientist's face. "My name is not dimwit. It is not dunce, dullard, dolt or dope. It is Drakken. Drakken!"

The world seemed to quake. Several flasks exploded as the water in them froze solid. All the Bunsen burners winked out at once. The air grew dark and cold, and ghostly fires sprang up, hanging in the air like will o' wisps. Drakken stood transfixed, a terrible blue illumination pouring out of him.

"Bring me DNAmy. I have work to do." his voice echoed with terrible harmonics as he turned to the colossus.

* * *

Author's Notes: First off, shout a shout out to Isamu for proofreading and feedback.

So, we've had a Resonance Erruption from one of the villians. Given all thats happened, one of our heroes should be in for a Limit Break sometime in the near future. I'm taking bets on who it is and what their Limit Break is. Winner gets and e-cookie.

As an added bonus, a custom charm:

**Puppy Dog Pout Expression**  
**Cost:** 6m, 1wp; **Mins**: Performance 4, Essence 2; **Type:** Simple  
**Keywords:** Compulsion, Emotion, Social  
**Duration:** One Scene  
**Prerequisite Charms:** Heart-Compelling Method  
The Lawgiver adopts an expression combining a soulful gaze with a pout. This charm exerts an unnatural influence on the target. If the Lawgiver succeeds at a Peformance-based roll against the target's MDV, the target feels an irresistable desire to make the Lawgiver happy at any cost. This charm cannot affect individuals with a negative intimacy to the Lawgiver.  
This charm is particularly draining on the target's Willpower. Resisting this influence costs two Willpower. Furthermore, if a target resists the influence and the Lawgiver invokes this charm again as their next action, they pay only two Motes and no Willpower.


	10. Darkness and Temptation

Meanwhile

"Oh shit," Kim said, staring at the smoking remains of the phone.

"Ahhh, that shouldn't have happened," said Ron.

"Ya think?" Shego snarked, rolling to her feet. "Alright, kiddos, time for Shego's beauty rest. If you care to join me?" Shego let the invitation trail off.

Kim stared at her in shock for a few seconds, while Ron resumed coughing.

"This is so totally not the time for that-" Kim caught herself and blushed even redder, "If there ever was a time for that. Wade and Dr. Director are in trouble! We don't know if they're still in the GJ base or if they got rerouted through whoever's tap you were tapping."

"Yeah, and this is my problem how?" Shego asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You're just going to leave them?" Kim lapsed into silence.

"Villain, remember?" Shego said, pulling a file from under the cot and starting to sharpen the claws on her glove. "Saving people is strictly hero work."

"You'd come if it was us," Ron said quietly. There was old sadness in his voice and expression.

"Yeah but that's different. Not entirely sure _why _it's different, but it is. There is no way I'm going back there for nerdlinger and the bitch queen."

Kim stared at Shego for a few long seconds.

"Where are we?" Kim asked.

"Less than half a mile outside of Middleton," Shego replied, lounging lazily on the cot.

"Ron and I are going. I need something to wear." She glared at Shego.

"Not from where I'm sitting," the green hued woman shot back, her lecherous grin returning in full force. Kim just shook her head, synched the sheet into a makeshift toga and turned to the exit. With a glance at Shego, Ron followed, the sadness on his face deepening slightly. Shego felt the tug of familiarity rising up in her, telling her to follow and crushed it ruthlessly.

* * *

Kim took a step out of the hidden door and found herself in the lengthening shadows of the forest at sunset. She turned, scanning the sky for the lights of Middleton. She froze as, against the crimson clouds of sunset, she saw a familiar sight. Ron followed her gaze.

They had seen it the night Drakken had unleashed his Lil Diablo robots, and the night the Lowardians had unleashed their devastation on the world. They had seen it in the aftermath of a hundred self destructing lairs. Clouds of black smoke lit from below by the lurid flickering light of fire. Kim took off running, with Ron close at her heels. The reached the edge of Middleton as the sun slipped below the horizon. Kim and Ron came to a halt and stared.

The town was devastated. Gray white fires burned sickly among the ruined buildings. The choking miasma of death filled the air. Hanging over all the death and devastation was a terrible feeling of horror. As one, Kim and Ron broke into a run, each racing to their own homes.

* * *

Kim found her home in the center of a field of craters, amidst the broken shapes of undead soldiers. The familiar stink of rocket fuel filled the air. The house itself was barely standing. Several walls and all the windows had been blown out. The hole where the door was supposed to be was surrounded by a half ring of scorched zombies.

Kim ran into the house, yelling for her parents and her brothers. She stormed into the kitchen, scanning the room for any sign of her family. Propped up on a salt shaker was one of her old Kimmunicators, its screen blinking '1 Message'. She grabbed it off the table and hit the playback key.

Her father's face appeared on the screen.

"Is this damn thing- ah yes, there it is. Hey Kimmie-Cub! It looks like we're under attack by the forces of the undead at the moment. Luckily, your brothers seem to have been preparing for just such-" he was cut off by the sound of a massive explosion. "Boys, what did I say about firing the concussion rockets that close to the house? We want the zombies to take the kinetic energy, not the house!" he yelled over his shoulder. He turned back to the screen, grinning sheepishly. "Anyways, we're going to make a break for it. We're going to round up some of the neighbors and head up into the hills. Well, gotta go! See you later." The screen went black.

Kim stood there for a moment, then hurried up to her room. Fortunately, the room was relatively untouched. She threw on a set of mission clothes then, dropped the Kimmunicator in her pocket and then, forgoing the stairs, simply jumped from her window the ground outside, rolled to her feet and took off in a dead sprint to the Stoppable residence.

* * *

Ron slowed as he approached his home. Broken undead forms lay around the yard, as if a very small and very specific hurricane had scattered them. Kneeling next to one, he found several small footprints on its face and torso. He grinned to himself. Hana had been busy. Straightening up, he hurried inside.

"Mom? Dad?" his calls met with no response. The grin fled his face as he searched the house for a sign of his family.

Kim found him minutes later in Hana's nursery, sitting on a chair and staring at the crib. He looked up as she entered the room, a look of barely mastered panic on his face.

"The baby carry-y thing and her blankets aren't here. I haven't found any sign of a struggle. They're just not here." He struggled to control his voice.

"They're probably with my parents and the Tweebs. Dad left a message saying they were heading for the hills." She wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine. Between Hana and the Tweebs, I almost feel sorry for whatever goes after them."

Ron nodded, leaning against her. After a few minutes Kim stood, pulling Ron to his feet.

"We need to see if there's anyone else who needs our help. Standard disaster relief sweep, meet up at the highschool?" She asked.

"Alright. I'll take west side."

"The fact that the arcade, movie theater and, most importantly, Beuno Nacho are all on the west side of town has nothing to do with your choice, does it," Kim grinned at her boyfriend as he rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Gotta make sure that the essential facilities survived," he said, lamely.

* * *

Top Agent Will Du struggled to drag himself into a sitting position. He propped himself up against the trunk of the tree and reached for the medkit he had managed to grab in his escape. He pulled the wad of blood soaked cloth from the wound in his midsection and stared at the damage. Cursing softly, he pulled out a roll of bandages and began to wrap them around the wound. That done, he pulled out his wrist computer and called up the footage he had pulled before escaping the base. He watched as Monkey Fist tortured Ron, and the fight that followed. He grimaced as the Amateur took on the monster that had so casually crippled him when he was no longer of any use. He almost threw the computer away as he saw her blaze into light along with her buffoon of a sidekick. As the recording cut off, he tried to struggle to his feet. The shooting pain of his gut wound forced him back down, and he groaned in pain. He sat, gasping for air.

"That the best you can do, agent? Just gonna lay down and die?" a voice, harsh but feminine, cut through his pain. His head whipped round, searching for the source of the voice.

Hovering in the air a few feet to his left was a mask of wood, depicting a female face. Growing from the sides of the mask were gnarled fingers. As he watched, new fingers sprouted forth from the top of the mask, pushing older fingers down. As the fingers reached the mask's nadir, they burst into flame and flew away in clouds of ash.

"On your feet agent!" the mask shouted. Something about the drill sergeant tone of the thing's voice cut through the agony, and Will Du found himself on his feet, his stun watch trained on the floating apparition.

"What are you?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm your Angel of Purpose. Literally. The situation has gone way beyond normal parameters, so the ones at the top have decided that someone needs to put things in order. So I've been sent to make sure that you're up to the task." It drifted closer, until it was practically in his face. "Your current equipment is woefully inadequate for the current threat, as you've seen. If you're up to it, I've got an upgrade for you."

"An angel. Shouldn't you be a wheel of flaming wings and eyes or something like that?" Will Du said, not lowering the stun watch.

"Do I look like an Oriphem to you? I'm of the Chrysogonae. Completely different," it replied.

"Never heard of you, and comparative religion has been on the GJ curriculum for all top agents since WWII."

"And most people have never heard of Global Justice. It's kind of the point of being a secret organization. Now, are you enough of a 'top agent' to take on the challenge to set Creation back on the right course, or are you going to let the Amateur screw it up?"

Will Du sank back against the tree and stared at the floating mask.

"So why do you need me? Why not just rain down some divine wrath?"

"Escalation. The situation is far more delicate than you know. Nuking the site from orbit would have vast and terrible consequences. This is surgery, and you are our scalpel. So, are you up to it?"

"So why me? I'm good. I know I'm good. I might even be one of the best. And because I'm so good, I notice things. I'm not a holy warrior or anything. I'm not even particularly religious. So why would your superiors choose me for this? What makes me special?" Will Du asked, his breath coming in short gasps.

"You are a hero who has known failure. However, that failure is not truly your own. The thing that Monkey Fist has become is outside the plan of those that were here first and that which put Creation into motion. So to, in fact, is what the Amateur and the Buffoon have become. They are toying with forces they cannot comprehend. And so, as a hero, you are offered the chance to serve something greater. You have struggled your whole life to uphold the laws of man. Now you have the chance to uphold the laws of something far greater. So I ask you one final time, will you pledge yourself to that which came first, that which set Creation in motion? Will you take up this challenge?"

Will Du stared at the thing, the down to where the blood was seeping through the bandages.

"I will."

The mask smiled, beatifically. Then it began to expand, twisting and growing. Its fingers latched on to the young agent's face, cutting off his scream of horror. The mask continued to expand, warping and twisting until it encased his entire body in a terrible chrysalis.

"I am an Angel, agent. But an Angel is just a messenger, and the one question you must always ask a messenger is; who sent you? But that is for another time. There will be plenty of time for you to carry messages once the transformation is complete."

* * *

Shego tossed and turned on the cot. She could feel Kim's presence tugging on her mind, while half remembered urges from a past long forgotten dragged at her. Snarling, she sat up to stare at the door. Grimacing, she lay back and tried to retreat into the place in her mind she went when in solitary confinement, or when Doctor D. was being particularly annoying. The pushing and pulling in her psyche began to fade as she drifted deeper into her inner world.

She found the shape waiting for her. She could feel the ancient memories surrounding it, riding it like fleas, but she knew that the form itself was wholly hers. She shed the shape she was wearing, drawing the beast around herself. As she rose back up to the world outside herself, she felt one of the memories suddenly dig in.

She found herself still lying on the cot, her paws stretched out in front of her. She licked her chops and hopped down to drag a cosmetic kit out from the well stocked space below the cot. Nosing it open, she admired herself in the compact mirror. There was something odd about her new form, however. It took her a few seconds to figure out what felt so different. Her eyes opened wide with shock as she realized what it was she felt.

She changed, finding her human shape without needing to go deep into her mind. She found herself standing in a form quite like her normal shape, save for a few rather important differences. Most of the curves of her body were gone, replaced with angular planes. Two rather important swellings were gone, while a bulge that had no right being where it was had appeared. She snatched up the compact and stared into a decidedly masculine face. Panic welled up in her, and she lashed out into her mind, trying to find her right form. Almost instantly, her body shifted, the planes softening into curves, the bulge vanishing and the swellings of her breasts returning, her green and black bodysuit shifting to accommodate the changes.

She blinked at the ease of it, and grinned. She changed again, assuming a masculine form. Then she assumed her Hyena shape, first the massive and powerful female form, then a smaller, male form.

She shifted a final time, resuming her original shape. She grinned widely. She was going to have so much fun messing with the Princess and the Buffoon. She sank back into the place where her forms waited and began to sift through the memories that surrounded them.

* * *

Kim ducked out of sight as gang of ghosts marched down the street. Her sweep had turned up nothing save empty streets and burned out houses. The only corpses she had found were of the animated variety, and none that she recognized. The town seemed utterly dead.

It went beyond the emptiness. The grass and trees seemed withered and desiccated. Between the roots of the dying vegetation, the soil seemed to have turned to dust. The colors seemed to be leaching out of everything. Even the moonless night sky seemed more gray than black. The fires that still burned in the rubble burned the color of ash.

She stopped just out of sight of the High School. Climbing to the roof of a relatively undamaged house, she surveyed her destination.

Whereas the rest of the town was deserted save for a few patrols of ghosts, the High School was a stronghold. The parking lot was filled with ranks of zombies and twisted abominations of flesh and bone. Ghost sentries stood guard around each entrance. Surrounding the whole campus was a vast spine chain. And huddled together in the center of the football field, surrounded by a second spine chain, were the residents of Middleton.

Kim crouched and stared for a few seconds, before shaking her head and beginning to circle the campus, heading towards Beuno Nacho. She needed to find Ron. She hadn't gone a dozen yards when a feral scream split the air, and a golden shape wreathed in silver light hurtled into the throngs of the dead.

* * *

**BUFFOONISH (ATTRIBUTE) MASTERY EXCELLENCY**

**Cost:** 3m, 1w; **Mins:** (ATTRIBUTE) 3, Essence 3; **Type:** Reflexive (Step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for defender)

**Keyword:** Combo-OK

**Duration:** Instant

**Prerequisite Charms:** Any [Attribute] Excellency

Rare is the Steward that learns this strange charm, despite its usefulness. It is often regarded as too demeaning or silly for the chosen of Ever Changing Luna.

The Exalt's player may invoke this Charm after the results of a roll based on the relevant Attribute are known. When the Charm is invoked, every roll of a 1 is treated as a success. Furthermore, if the Charm is invoked on a botched roll, every dice showing a 1 is instead counted as 2 successes.

A successful roll always results in the most awkward and undignified success possible. Furthermore, each time this Charm is purchased, the Exalt's player chooses a suitably humiliating event to be attached to it, such as loosing one's pants or falling into an embarrassing position. Whenever this charm is invoked, the Exalt suffers the humiliating event, no matter how improbable the circumstances needed for it to occur, happens.


	11. Passions of the Untempered Beast

Ron stared at the throngs of the dead that surrounded the Middleton high school, and at the crowded masses of Middleton residents huddled into the football field. He began to scan the outskirts for any sign of Kim. He needed to meet up with her before he did anything.

Then the clouds of smoke that had obscured the sky broke for an instant, and he found himself staring into the full face of the living moon.

It seemed to him that the color of the world seemed to fade away around him, save where the moonlight fell. Even as the clouds of smoke blotted Her face from the sky, he could see Her light.

He could feel the Lotus Blade flowing into his suddenly leathery hands. It gleamed brilliantly in her light. Something was wrong about it, though. It was too light, too puny. Too mortal. His simian mouth spread in a wide grin. He knew its proper shape. The blade flowed out, shifting in his hands. The blade he now held was twice as long as before, and four times a wide. The curve of a katana was gone, replaced with the curve of an immense Scimitar, similar in shape to those of his home Chiaroscuro. The Lotus Blade was shed. Now he held Shamshir, the Diaklave of Infinite Forms.

He looked up from the blade, his eyes sliding over the faded world until they found something else Her light touched. His eyes fixed on the horde, and his lips curled back, revealing his teeth in a feral grin. The Daiklave of Infinite Forms shifted, becoming a colossal chainsaw, then a flamethrower and then resuming the shape of Shamshir. Those were mortal weapons.

With a wild whoop of exhilaration, he leaped forward. He could feel himself hurtling through the air, Shamshir raised high. He crashed to the ground and struck, catching the central link of the outer spine chain with the broad flat of the blade and hurling into the air. As it came crashing down, he spun and cleaved it neatly in two. With lightning fluidity, the spin turned into a flourish, neatly decapitating two zombies. He screamed again, high and wild, as his blade flashed out again, carving a swath into the pressing horde.

* * *

Rufus squeaked with dismay as the pocket he was sleeping in vanished suddenly. His eyes bulged as he took in his human's simian state. Before he could do anything, his human suddenly dashed forward and leaped into the air, diving into the middle of a horde of undead.

The small pink rodent stared after his human. He paused for a moment, sniffing the air for his other human's scent. He squeaked in dismay as the acrid chemical stink overwhelmed his nose. The stink permeated the air, blinding his sense of smell and stinging his eyes.

With a whimper, the small hairless rodent curled up, desperately shielding his eyes and nose.

* * *

Shego loped through the forest, her emerald flanks almost glowing in the moonlight. Ron and Kim's scent trail led straight down to Middleton, but there was something else on the air. She came to an abrupt halt at the outskirts of the town.

The smell was noxiously chemical. It reminded her of weed killer. She pawed at her muzzle, trying to scrub the scent away. After a few moments of futile pawing, she changed, slipping back into human form. A chorus of faint memory-voices clamored at her that she was at the edge of a place of death. Scowling, she forced them out of her thoughts. Shadowland or no, she needed to warn Ron and Kim of what was coming.

* * *

Kim stood staring for a split second as Ron tore into the undead, and then was lost in a sea of walking corpses. Then she was off, hurling herself into the throngs.

* * *

Ron spun and slashed like a dervish, wreathed in silver and blue fire. A small wall of fallen enemies surrounded him, forcing the remaining horde to scramble over it to reach him. He was vaugly aware of the bitter taste of dead blood and shredded corpse-flesh in his teeth.

He leaped and spun as one of the dozens fragments of the original spine chain rushed him, trying to catch him on the hooks and blades of its harness. The blade flickered out three times before his feet touched the ground, and the chain thrashed and scuttled off in two smaller fragments. He felt a satisfying thunk as a length of rebar he had snagged with his tail crushed the neck of a zombie coming up behind him.

He barely noticed when a redheaded figure landed lightly beside him. Player two had entered the game. He could feel another primal shriek of brutal joy welling up within him. He lashed out as the scream rose, Shamshir blurring as he cut a fresh swath out of the advancing dead.

* * *

Kim bound with inhuman gymnastic precision through the ranks of the dead. She could see Ron ahead of her, a blazing beacon of silver and blue beset upon all sides by ranks of enemies. With a final leap, she was beside him.

For a moment she stood, straight and tall amidst the darkness, and ancient memory flowed through her. She lashed out with a brutal kick, and one of the walking dead was hurled back into a crowd of its fellows, bowling them down.

Glancing quickly back to check on Ron, she strode forward into the dark horde, an aura of golden and crimson light exploding into being around her.

* * *

Shego rushed through the town, racing in a straight line towards the beacon of silver and gold. Obstacles were thrown aside or broken through in her mad dash.

* * *

Ron had abandoned the length of rebar jammed through a zombie's skull. His scream of joyous rage had become almost constant as he waded through the sea of enemies. His fur was matted with viscera, and the Daiklave of Infinite Forms shone red in the moonlight. He dove into another knot of the undead, hacking them to pieces as they pressed forwards.

That done he turned, seeking more foes to destroy. He scanned the wreckage quizzically, searching. He saw nothing standing, until his gaze found a figure wreathed in gold kneeling amidst the dead. As it turned to face him, he recognized it. It wasn't an enemy. It was his mate.

His scream of wrath fell silent as he felt his fury sublimating into passion.

* * *

Kim turned to survey the ruined forces surrounding her. Something about the broken masses called to her. She found herself kneeling and reaching out to touch one of the broken forms, a whispered prayer escaping her lips. The corpse vanished in a flash of golden flame. She raised her gaze to take in the field of death and caught sight of Ron. She barely had time to stand as he suddenly hurtled forward, bearing her to the ground amidst the corpses. She felt blood coated simian lips pressing against her own with brutal force, and almost gagged as his viscera stained tongue forced its way between her lips.

She shoved him off and rolled to her feet. Gagging, she tried desperately to scrub the gore from her face. She stiffened as Ron's now human arms wrapped around her waist. She let out a shriek as she felt him bury his bloody face in the crook of her neck.

"Ron, this so isn't the time for this," she said, trying to twist out of his embrace. She jumped as she felt his hands creeping below the waist of her pants. She elbowed him hard and he released her. She turned to find him doubled over. "Ron, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Have a little trouble with your makeup this morning?" a familiar, supercilious voice cut in.

Kim glared at the brunette and wiped at the blood on her face.

* * *

Ron recognized the voice. He lashed out with a backhanded slap, sending the source sprawling. He really didn't want to deal with her, particularly when Kim was already so moody.

* * *

Kim stared in shock as Ron causally backhanded Boni to the ground. She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face her. He stared at her, a feral gleam in his eyes. As he stepped closer, she brought her knee up with perfect precision. His eyes crossed and with a groan he collapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

Ron opened his eyes to find Kim standing over him. Something wasn't quite right, however.

"Hey Kim, you've got something on your face," he said, pointing at the offending smear. Then he caught sight of his own gore smeared hand. He stared for a few seconds, taking stock of his own condition. Carefully, he clambered to his feet.

"I think I need a shower," he said, before staggering off towards the school.

* * *

Shego slipped the small pink rodent into her calf pouch. Whatever the chemicals she had smelled were, they had done a number on it. Ron and Kim were cleaning up the last of the undead.

She blinked in surprise when Ron tackled Kim for an impromptu make out session. Her surprise doubled when he backhanded the bitchy brunette to the ground. Her mouth dropped open in shock when Kim dropped the buffoon with a knee to the groin. The acrid chemical stink on the air brought her back to herself.

As he tottered off towards the school, Shego made a beeline for Kim.

* * *

Kim caught sight of the green hued woman coming towards her and grimaced slightly.

"So, you decided to show up after all. You're a bit late for the party," she said.

"Yeah, I thought you deserved a heads up. Looks like the national guard has decided to get involved. They're setting up a little outside of town. You and the boytoy coming?" Shego nodded her head in the direction of her hideout.

"Why would we? Its not like Ron and I are fugitives," Kim said, archly.

"Not exactly up on international super-science related terrorism protocols, are you Princess. Let me spell it out for you. See, this little stunt bumps Drakken up on the threat-o-meter, from the teenage cheerleader and bumbling sidekick threat level to the lethal response category. Now, I'm a known associate of Drakken's, and a powered individual. That means I just got bumped up to lethal response, which means they shoot on sight, no questions asked. And with the code FHT associating you with me GJ put out on you yesterday, that means that you'n the boytoy," she prodded Kim in the chest for emphasis, "are now also on their hit list. And since you were reported as gaining powers, that means you're on the lethal response list as well."

Kim stared at her, dumbfounded. "What? This is so not possible. Ron and I are heroes."

"Yeah, so was I once, sugar. That's what a code FHT is all about."

Kim stared at the older woman, dumbfounded. This was insane.

"Now, we can't get out of here until morning 'cause of the Shadowland, and I need to get whatever crap is in the air out of my eyes. I'm betting the buffoon is headed for the showers, and I think I'll join him. You can join in too Princess," that last said with a sly wink, Shego headed off after Ron.

After a moment's pause, Kim shrugged to the few Middletonians watching the conversation in confusion and chased after Shego. She had questions that needed answers, and blood that needed washing off.

* * *

Dr. Betty Director stepped smartly from the shadowed corner and dealt the WEE agent guarding the door an exacting blow to the back of the head. The agent crumpled silently to the ground. Despite the severity of her situation, the one eyed woman grinned to herself. It had been far too long since she had participated in a field mission.

Silently, she slipped into the central control room. None of the technicians noticed her. These new powers seemed to work as the voice had said they would. Part of her was worried about the presence of yet another voice in her head after what Monkey Fist had done to her. However, this voice seemed more interested in helping her escape at the moment, a course of action she had no objections to.

A few keystrokes, and the hanger bay doors were unlocked. A few more and the base was on a silent countdown to self-destruct. The countdown would cease to be silent five minutes before detonation. She had plenty of time before that to escape. She slipped from the command center and headed for the hangers.

* * *

**Lunar Flaw of Compassion:**

**Passions of the Untempered Beast**

Regressing into a primeval state, the Lunar sees the world entirely in the atavistic context of their intimacies. If the character is presented with something towards which they have an intimacy to, they must act on that intimacy in the most direct way possible, ignoring everything else. When faced by a hated enemy, they must attack. When presented with a favorite sword, they must admire and toy with it to the exclusion of all else. Catching sight of a lover in a crowd, they must do everything in their power to express their love.

Things towards which the character has no intimacies are ignored as if they did not exist. If presented with multiple things towards which they hold an intimacy, the character may choose which intimacy to act on first. If the character is presented with nothing towards which they hold an intimacy, they regress into a fugue state

**Partial Control:** The character may interact with things they do not hold an intimacy towards, but only in the context of its interactions with the subject of the character's intimacies

**Duration:** One scene in combat or one hour for every point of compassion.


	12. Events Past and Present

**Earlier**

Mr. Dr. Possible sighed with exasperation at the familiar sound of the sound barrier being broken, not even bothering to lower his evening newspaper. He frowned as his eyes began to sting and a chemical stink assailed his nose.

"Boys, what have I said about using noxious chemicals around the house?" he shouted.

"Its not us dad!" Jim yelled, running into the room.

"You've gotta see this, dad!" Tim yelled, close on his brother's heels.

Mr. Dr. Possible lowered his newspaper and followed his sons' pointing fingers to the window. His jaw nearly dropped in shock and horror.

Three things, each resembling a cross between a squid, a dragon and a jet, hovered over Middleton. Each had the long, cigar shaped body of a jet, except bloated like some living thing left to rot under the water. The planes' turbines were still present, only now they were mounted to long membranous wings jutting from great rents in the sides of the metal body. Dangling down to the ground below were three long chains of torsos, each rippling and seething in the breeze.

"James! Are you seeing this?" he heard his wife call from the living room.

"I am," he called back, rubbing at his stinging eyes.

"Whoa-" Jim began.

"Freaky." Tim finished.

"Look at that!" Jim said.

"Gross!" Tim added.

For a moment, Mr. Dr. Possible couldn't see what they were talking about. Then he saw a stream of humanoid figures being passed down the chains to the ground. As the figures reached the ground, they began to shamble down the street.

"Zombies!" the twins cried, and as one turned and ran for the basement. Mr. Dr. Possible was turning to follow them when the first explosion rent the air. He whirled back to the window in time to see the flare of a rocket shoot up from one of the floating things and hang in the air for a second, before spiraling down into a shop. The spine chains detached and clambered down to the ground as the three hovering things began to rise and circle, sending more and more rockets down into the town.

Mr. Dr. Possible was already running as the explosions began to fill the air.

"Anne, boys, get to the garage-" he was cut off as another explosion blew the windows in. He spun to stare out the window. The van of the shambling zombies lay shattered in the street before the house.

"Hicka bicka boo!" Jim cried, holding a remote control aloft in triumph.

"Hoosha!" Tim yelled, slotting another rocket into its launcher.

The nearest floating thing turned, and three rockets streaked towards the house. They were met midair by three smaller rockets from the twins' launcher.

When the thunder had died, Mr. Dr. Possible found his wife at his side.

"I'll pack the car, you leave a message for Kim when she gets back." she said, pushing the Kimmunicator into his hands.

* * *

**Now**

Dr. Director studied the two ninja guarding the hanger door with interest. She poured essence into the threads of fate, and, as by chance both of the ninja were looking opposite directions, she slipped between them.

She should have known, however, that such a simple manipulation of fate wouldn't fool those trained in a mystical martial art, even if it was just the root of the lotus. As they were both Yamanouchi graduates they spun silently to follow her, guns in hand. Before they could draw a bead she swatted the guns from their hands. One gasped quietly as his right index finger broke.

They cart wheeled backwards, one handed in the case of the ninja whose finger she had broken, and came to their feet, guns in hand. She felt her eye twitch as they tried to fade from her sight, and she grinned. It was exhilarating to be able to meet them as equals. When she was just one of GJ's top agents, instead of its leader, she had run into Yamanouchi agents from time to time, and had always envied them their powers.

She closed, and their shock at the failure of their technique caused them to freeze for long enough for her to disarm them both again with an outside kick. The both retreated again, flipping further back down the corridor. As they regained their feet, they brandished long knives seemingly from nowhere.

Dr. Director just grinned wider. As they had been indulging in their acrobatics, she had scooped their pistols up and trained them on where the ninjas' heads would be. The ninjas' eyes widened as they stared down the barrels of their own guns.

With lightning precision, she engaged the safeties and ejected the magazines. A gunshot now would undo all their courtesy in not making any sounds that could have alerted any other guards. Ninja training had its vulnerabilities. She shifted her grip on the pistols, grasping them by the barrel so she could use the butts as clubs.

The ninja with a broken finger lunged, and she sidestepped gracefully, bringing a pistol butt down on his left wrist, breaking it and swept his legs, sending him to the ground. A small scream escaped his lips as he caught himself on his broken wrist. A kick to the side of his head took him out of the game.

The other ninja stood, watching her intently. As she turned to face him, he darted forward, his knife out in a controlled thrust. She sidestepped, bringing a pistol butt up to catch the blade when she felt something strumming in the back of her mind. She could see the second blade appear in his other hand. She could see it slide through the gap in her defenses her dodge had created. She felt it slide between her ribs, not a mortal blow, not to one such as she, but far too close for comfort. And then she was parrying the first knife with the pistol, the second knife still as yet hidden in the ninja's sleeve.

She caught herself and reversed her sidestep in a movement impossible even for an enlightened mortal such as her opponent. The second knife slid past her, and she brought the second pistol down on the ninja's temple. He collapsed in a heap beside his partner. She knelt beside him and liberated the access key to the hanger bay from his pocket.

Less than half a minute later she was speeding away from the base in one of WEE's hoverjets. When she had judged that enough time had passed for the alarm she had set to go off, she thumbed the button to open a comm channel.

* * *

Sheldon Director, also known as Gemini, head of the World Evil Empire looked up from his plans as the base alarm went off. A second later, the main screen of his command center opened and he was greeted with the sight of a one eyed brunette woman in Global Justice uniform.

"Well, Sheldon, it looks like I win again. Good luck shutting down the autodestruct sequence."

The screen went blank as she ended the call.

When the massive man spoke, his voice was a hiss of barely controlled rage.

"Who was that woman?"

* * *

The Unrepentant Dragon Coiling in Fire and Darkness, also known as Doctor Drakken sat slumped at a workbench, snoring softly.

* * *

_The two men stood in the gallery over the factory floor. Below them, the final touches on the Warstrider were being completed._

_ "I hear that your wife's Exaltation has reemerged. May I assume you have offered to mentor her?" _

_ "Of course."_

_ "And your Lunar mate? Rumor has it his Exaltation has also found a host. It must have been hard, losing them both like that. I understand the Deliberative committee has determined that it was a flaw in the Essence converters that caused the explosion, which caused a critical overload under the strain of combat with the Raksha. There was some contamination in the Factory Cathedral where they were constructed. It seems that the Deliberative is considering an audit. We cannot afford the loss of more Celestial Exalts to faulty equipment."_

_ "To true. Luckily, I have some experience in training young Exalts. She should be ready to take an active place in the Deliberative in just a few decades."_

_ "Yes, fortunate that. Fate has not been kind to you, to loose them both so many times."_

_ "It is the nature of the Dawn and the Full Moons to throw themselves into battle. I just wish they would wait until they were truly ready before throwing themselves into the fray."_

_The two men stood in the gallery over the laboratory. Below them, the finishing touches were being put on the housing chamber of the Colossus._

_ "There is much rumor about your project. No one is exactly sure what you are trying to achieve. The Mask of Winters is particularly curious. I have been sent to assuage that curiosity. So, what are you doing?"_

_ "It is quite simple, really. Do you know what the greatest failing of the Deathknight is?"_

_ "No, but I'm certain that you'll enlighten me."_

_ "Continuity. Our masters spend a great deal of time an effort preparing their Deathknights for service. Should a Deathknight fall, the are set back to square one. But what if that power could be preserved? It would offer an immense advantage to the cause of the Neverborn. It would also ensure true immortality for the chosen of Death."_

_ "Everyone knows that an Exaltation can't attach to a dead soul."_

_ "True. A soul needs both Hun and Po to be a candidate for Exaltation. A dead soul has one or the other, never both. However, there were some rather interesting experiments before the Usurption into true resurrection through recombining the Hun and the Po. The experiments were a failure, but there were certain implications in what they were able to manage that I have chosen to explore. I have reached the stage where I need to test my theories. But your master is already well aware of all this. Which is why he sent your Monstrance of Celestial Penitence on before you."_

_ The first man didn't have a chance to react as the obsidian blade slid into his back. He gasped and collapsed, feeling both blood and Essence draining from his body._

* * *

**The Daiklave of Infinite Forms, Shamshir, The Perfect Lance, The Lotus Blade**

**Rating: *******

The Daiklave of Infinite Forms was one of a set of eight daiklaves crafted at the height of the First Age, one of Orichalcum, one of Moonsilver, one of Starmetal and one for each of the five types of Jade. Each of the Daiklaves was designed to be the ultimate expression of the magical material it was made of.

The Daiklave of Infinite Forms is crafted from purified Moonsilver and solidified prayers to Everchanging Luna. It is unknown what the blade's true shape is, if it even possesses such a limiting quality. It is known that the first Lunar to wield it chose the curved form of a scimitar as its template, and in the second age it wore the shape of a Dire Lance.

In the hands of an attuned Lunar, the Daiklave of Infinite Forms may take the form and qualities of any two-dot or lesser artifact weapon that may be made of Moonsilver or any mortal weapon or tool as a simple action. No matter what form the Daiklave takes, it adds an extra +2 to Accuracy and Defense above and beyond the Magical Material bonus.

The true power of the Daiklave does not make itself known until the blade is attuned to a Lunar Exalt and a three-dot Lunar hearthstone is placed in its single hearthstone slot. The hearthstone provides no bonuses or advantages except allowing the Daiklave to access its full power. When these conditions are met, the Daiklave gains the power to assume the shape, statistics and powers of any three-dot or lesser artifact weapon that can be made of Moonsilver or _any_ two-dot or lesser artifact that can be made of Moonsilver.

**Speed: **4, **Accuracy:** +8, **Damage:** +6L, Defense**:** +5, **Rate:** 3, **Minimums:** Str **, **Attune:** 8

Stats for Reaper Diaklave form, includes magical material bonus


End file.
